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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26716309">Heroes Never Die (don't worry they get revived like ten issues later)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sniperdoodle/pseuds/shutupimshakira'>shutupimshakira (Sniperdoodle)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Edeleth Week 2020 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses, X-Men - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, F/F, Female My Unit | Byleth, Fluff and Angst, Mutant Powers, Slow Burn, Temporary Character Death, X-Men Inspired, X-Men References, no beta we die like Glenn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:40:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>20,942</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26716309</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sniperdoodle/pseuds/shutupimshakira</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The life of a mutant is a hard one. Byleth's faced teleporters, living islands, savage lands, killer robots, mutant extremists, cartoon babies, and cosmic forces.</p><p>However, it's all worth is to have met Edelgard.</p><blockquote>
  <p>Edelgard narrows her eyes, “You have honed your abilities finely. You are an excellent fighter. Why are you here?”</p>
  <p>Byleth stares back, “What?”</p>
  <p>“Dimitri and Claude have nowhere else to go. Yuri’s here because I think he finds all of this amusing,” Edelgard explains. “Why are you here?”</p>
  <p>She’s starting to get that these questions are a part of Edelgard’s evaluation of her. She may as well just tell the truth, “I’ve never been around other mutants before. It’s just been me and my dad, as long as I can remember.” Traveling the country in a shitty RV, stopping to fish or so he could get drunk, running from some imaginary threat. “Why are you here?”</p>
  <p>Edelgard crosses her arms, her gaze is still searing. But she finally offers an answer, “Security.”</p>
</blockquote>Welcome to the X-Men, Byleth. Hope you survive the experience.<p>(For Edeleth Week Day 2: Superhero (well, I guess technically X-Men) AU)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Edeleth Week 2020 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1944229</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>90</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Heroes Never Die (don't worry they get revived like ten issues later)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I . . . I wasn't quite expecting to write over 20k words for a single shipping week prompt but fuck if I didn't write all of this is in a week. Doing an X-Men AU has been something I've wanted to do since I got into FE:3H but I never had the inspiration until I saw the words "Superhero AU". </p><p>My main inspiration for this comes for three sources of X-Men media: the original comic book series, X-Men: Evolution, and Wolverine and the X-Men Vol 1 (the comic, not the TV show. It's one of my favorite comic book series of all time and you should all read it and stan Kid Omega). This is filled with a lot of X-Men references for my own pleasure, so I hope you enjoy. </p><p>Also, this is 20k words long and I'm currently in college and didn't my best proof-reading this without a beta reader so . . . if there are any inconsistencies then I'm just being accurate to the comics. </p><p>(If you want a soundtrack for this fic, just listen to the Sky High soundtrack. That's pretty much my entire superhero playlist anyways).</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            <em>“Jeralt, you know I only have Byleth’s best interests at heart. Garreg Mach will help her gain full mastery over her abilities-”</em></p><p>
  <em>            “So you say. Can you leave us alone for a while? I wanna talk to Byleth myself.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “Of course. Take all the time you need to come to the right decision.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “. . . Kid, as much as I loathe to admit it, she may have a point . . . I’ve taught you all I can but . . . we can’t just run from it forever. Besides, it sounds like there will be mutants like you at her academy. Maybe you can make some real friends. Just . . . watch out for Rhea alright? I still don’t completely trust her . . . don’t worry about me, I’ll make sure to stop by to see how you’re doing. But I think this is the right choice.”</em>
</p>
<hr/><p>            Byleth steps into the grand foyer of the Garreg Mach Institute for Gifted Students. It’s a bit overwhelming. She went from traveling around the country in an RV with her dad to living with strangers in a huge mansion. </p><p>            Rhea puts a hand on her shoulder, drawing her out of her thoughts, “It may seem like a lot right now, but I hope that the Institute will become a home to you one day.”</p><p>            Her father’s words ring in her head: watch out for Rhea. She repeats that to herself as Rhea begins the tour of the mansion, showing her the kitchen, the living room, the bedrooms, and her office . . . all normal stuff. Except that . . . she doesn’t see anyone else. </p><p>            “I thought that there were other students here,” Byleth says. </p><p>            “There are,” Rhea says. “They’re in the lower levels of the mansion, our next stop.”</p><p>            She leads Byleth into an elevator, and types in a code to access a hidden panel of buttons. The basement is very different from the mansion itself, looking like something out of a sci-fi movie.</p><p>            “I try to keep most of the power-training contained to the lower-levels of the Mansions, and only residents will have access to these levels,” Rhea explains as Byleth looks around with wide eyes. “The students are currently training in the Danger Room.”</p><p>            “Danger Room?” Byleth repeats. </p><p>            “It’s our main training facility,” Rhea says. “Don’t worry, it’s all holographic. You’re in no real danger.”</p><p>            They enter what looks like a control room, where a man with green hair is sitting at a control panel in front of a row of windows. He looks surprised when he sees them enter, “Rhea, you’re back sooner than expected . . . who is your companion?”</p><p>            “This is Byleth, our newest student. She’s the daughter of an old friend of mine,” Rhea explains. “Byleth, this is my assistant Seteth. He helps coordinate training and handles our finances.”</p><p>            “It’s . . . a pleasure to meet you,” Seteth holds his hand out. “I wasn’t expecting any new students.”</p><p>            Byleth shakes his hand, but doesn’t reply. She doesn’t quite know what to say. She glances out the windows, and looks down into a large room where four mutants are running around battling robot arms, flame throwers, traps, and other obstacles. So that’s the Danger Room. </p><p>            “Those four are our students,” Rhea begins. “The one in blue is Dimitri Blaiddyd, our first student. We took him in after his parents died protecting him from a mob. His mutation is super-strength.”</p><p>            Dimitri rips one of the robotic arms out of the wall and tosses it across the room at a robot attacking a dark-skinned student dressed in yellow. The yellow one gives a thumbs up to Dimitri before pulling his arm back like he’s drawing an arrow on a bow. An arrow of light forms in the air. When it’s released, it finds its mark in a flamethrower that blows up on impact. </p><p>            “That’s Claude von Riegan, in yellow,” Rhea continues. “He’s able to create star arrows out of thin air. He’s a very good marksman . . . and an interesting character.”</p><p>            Claude starts to make another arrow, but another robotic arm appears right behind him. He doesn’t see it, but a man with purple hair teleports across the room to grab him, and teleport back. </p><p>            “Yuri Leclerc has the power of teleportation,” Rhea says. “I first met him when he was a young boy, but it’s taken me this long to convince him to join us. He’s not much of a team player, but I’m sure you two will get along.”</p><p>            The final student is a white-haired girl in red. She’s the only one carrying an actual weapon-two hand axes-and is trying to make her way over to the group. As she does so, a flying blade comes out of one of the walls. The three boys are all caught up in their own battles, so she won’t be saved. However, as the blade hits her, her skin turns a dark red and it breaks against it. </p><p>            “Finally, there’s our newest student, Edelgard Hresvelg. As you saw, she can create an impenetrable exoskeleton over her skin,” Rhea concludes. </p><p>            The four students manage to converge together at the center of the room, and all of them are arguing with each other. Seteth taps on his headset and speaks into a microphone, “Please, stop arguing and at least <em>try</em> to work together. Out on the field, you won’t have the luxury of getting carried away with such distractions.” </p><p>            They don’t seem to pay attention to him. </p><p>            Seteth sighs and Rhea softly smiles despite what she says, “Why don’t you try one of the new hologram programs?”</p><p>            “Hhm,” Seteth puts his hand on his chin. He starts typing onto a keyboard and pulls up a list on a screen, “I suppose.”</p><p>            After a few more keystrokes, a horrible screech comes from the Danger Room. All four students look alright, but in the corner of the room is a . . . white dragon. Yuri is the first to speak, and it looks like he mouths ‘what the fuck’. That earns him a ‘language!’ from Seteth. Then, the dragon launches and swoops down. </p><p>            Edelgard and Dimitri take cover, while Yuri teleports out of the way and Claude tries to take a shot at it. His star arrow bounces off of its scales. Dimitri pulls a large, square trap out of the ground and tries to throw it at the dragon, once again it does nothing. Instead, it breaks apart and the debris falls on Edelgard and Claude. Edelgard manages to protect herself, while Claude gets a nasty bruise on his forehead. Yuri, sees all of this happening across the room, and teleports right next to Byleth. </p><p>            “Hey Seteth, isn’t this a little intense?” Yuri immediately asks. He pauses to look at Byleth and then turns away, “Or are you trying to scare the new kid?”</p><p>            “No, you all simply needed a reminder to work together,” Seteth says, and presses a red button. The dragon pauses mid-flight and fades away, while the other traps and weapons retreat into the walls. He leans into the microphone again, “Wash up and head to the observation deck as soon as possible.” </p><p>            The three remaining students trudge away from the Danger Room through a door on the side. Yuri sighs and says, “I'll be right back. I smell like a fucking zoo.”</p><p>            “This is a school Mr. Leclerc, please watch your language-” Seteth begins, but Yuri’s already teleported away. Once the doors close, he sighs, “All four of them are extremely stubborn. I’m beginning to think that they’ll never be able to work together efficiently.”</p><p>            “Be patient, Seteth,” Rhea says. “Besides, their team isn’t complete yet. Sometimes, they just need that missing piece to turn into a well-oiled machine.”</p><p>            Seteth doesn’t reply. He turns to Byleth and observes her for a moment. </p><p>            About twenty minutes later, all four students enter the observation room, looking a little worse for wear. </p><p>            “Rhea, welcome back,” Dimitri speaks first. “How was your trip?”</p><p>            “And uh,” Claude looks at Byleth. “Who’s your friend?” </p><p>            Rhea puts a hand on her shoulder, “This is Byleth Eisner, our newest student. I hope you all will give her a warm welcome to Garreg Mach. Byleth, as I said earlier, this is Dimitri, Claude, Yuri, and Edelgard.”</p><p>            “Hello,” Byleth says. </p><p>            “Welcome,” Dimitri politely smiles, despite the darkness in his eyes. “I hope we’ll be able to get to know each other better during your time here.”</p><p>            “Yeah, these guys have gotten boring,” Claude teases. </p><p>            “So, what are your powers?” Edelgard asks. She feels herself being scrutinized beneath Edelgard’s gaze, observed and judged.  </p><p>            “Time manipulation,” Byleth says. </p><p>            Everyone’s, except for Rhea’s, eyes go wide in shock. Claude gets his voice back first, “Like, you can go forward and back? Back to the Future style?”</p><p>            She shakes her head, “I can only go back about a few minutes at a time.”</p><p>            “That . . . doesn’t necessarily seem like it’s a mutation viable for combat,” Edelgard says. </p><p>            “You’re just not creative enough,” Claude insists. “I can think of ten different things I could do with that off the top of my head.”</p><p>            Byleth glances down into the Danger Room, “Why don’t I just show you?”</p><p>            “You don’t have to,” Dimitri says. “The Danger Room, is well, dangerous and you just got here-”</p><p>            “Hey, if new girl wants to tackle the Danger Room on her first day, say let her,” Yuri says. </p><p>            “Agreed,” Edelgard says. “We’ve been training together for months. I don’t want her to drag us down.”</p><p>            “Are you sure about this?” Rhea asks. </p><p>            Byleth nods. She wants to prove herself to this group. She wants to be their friend. </p><p>            “Okay,” Rhea says. “Edelgard, can you show Byleth down to the entrance of the Danger Room?”</p><p>            Edelgard nods, and Byleth follows her to a staircase that leads into a locker room. There’s showers, benches, and cubbies that have training outfits on display. The four that are there are color coded, but there are other empty stands. Edelgard shows her where she can change into an armored outfit, a spare one with green highlights. It seems a bit silly, but she’d rather stay safe than sorry. </p><p>            Once Byleth steps out of the changing stall, Edelgard points to a set of double doors, “Head in there when you’re ready. Seteth will start the simulation then.”</p><p>            She turns around to walk away, but Byleth asks, “Are there any weapons I can use? Like your handaxes?”</p><p>            “In the armory,” Edelgard points to a side-room. Byleth leans forward so she can glance into the open doorway, and the room is filled to the brim with all kinds of weaponry. </p><p>            “Thank-you,” Byleth says. </p><p>            Edelgard studies Byleth once again and turns around, “Good luck.” </p><p>            Byleth heads into the armory as Edelgard leaves. She picks up a steel sword that is balanced well and grabs a small shield she can wrap onto her arm. She ties her hair into a ponytail and heads out into the Danger Room. </p><p>            The Danger Room seems much bigger when you’re standing on the ground rather than looking down from above. She looks up at the windows, where Seteth, Rhea, and the other students are watching her. </p><p>            Seteth’s voice comes through a speaker, “I will be running the standard training exercise. Holograms and traps will activate in waves, in increasing difficulty. The goal is to survive as many waves as possible. Understand?”</p><p>            “Yes.”</p><p>            “Are you ready?”</p><p>            “Yes.”</p><p>            “The simulation will be starting in three . . . two . . . one.”</p><p>            As soon as Seteth’s voice cuts off, the room begins to whir to life. Guns and flamethrowers poke out of the wall, a few blocks rise out of the floor, and four robot arms extend out. The first thing that goes off is the gun. But before the bullets hit her, everything freezes and rewinds. </p><p>            Everything starts to activate again, and Byleth heads for the first gun. She jumps across the rising blocks and lunges at the gun to cut it off the wall before it can even fire. Next is a flamethrower, but she dodges behind a block before she can get burned. The block starts to sink into the ground. Everything freezes, she retraces her steps, and rolls behind a different block. </p><p>            One of the arms tries to grab her, but she blocks the claws with her shield. She uses the leverage to launch herself over the arm and runs up the massive tube to take out the flamethrower. As she lands, a new arm comes out of the wall and grabs her torso. Everything freezes, she feels herself being lifted back into the air, and she changes the angle of her fall. She lands just next to the new arm and cuts it in half. </p><p>            Byleth runs across the room, hiding behind the boxes during barrages of fire from the final gun, to try and get rid of the remaining four arms. She runs behind one arm while getting fired at, filling the arm with bullet holes. The next two run into each other, the claws piercing through metal. The final one she simply cuts in half with her sword. </p><p>            To deal with the last gun, she grabs a piece of scrap and hurls it across the room. It hits the gun, causing it to turn off. Everything has been defeated. </p><p>            There’s a pause, and then the activity picks up again. </p><p>            She continues, taking down traps and robotic arms as things get more hectic and chaotic. When she needs to, she reverses time, but she starts to understand the pattern of the arms, gun, blocks, and everything else. The longer she spends in here, the more she loses track of time.</p><p>            After so many waves, she stands at the center of the Danger Room trying to catch her breath. She waits for the next wave to come, but after a prolonged silence she looks up into the windows. Seteth and the other students look shocked, but Rhea has a small, pleased smile on her face. </p><p>            “Is everything alright?” Byleth asks. </p><p>            Seteth clears his throat and speaks, “Yes, it’s just . . . you just got the new high score in the Danger Room. On your first try.”</p><p>            Claude leans over and grabs the microphone from Seteth, “<em>How</em> did you do that?”</p><p>            Byleth shrugs, “My dad taught me how to fight.”</p><p>            “He taught you how to fight <em>robot arms</em>?!”</p><p>            Seteth wrestles the microphone back from Claude, “You can continue this session if you wish, but I believe that you have proved yourself.”</p><p>            “I think I’m good for now,” Byleth says as she scans the left-over damage from the room. </p><p>            “Then please, change and join us back in the Observation Deck.”</p><p>            Byleth does so, changing and claiming one of the cubbies are her own. She leaves her sword and shield there before heading back up. </p><p>            Rhea is the first person to greet her when she returns, “Good job, Byleth.” </p><p>            “Yes,” Edelgard says, “That was . . . impressive.”</p><p>            “It was more than impressive,” Yuri says. “In a one-on-one fight with any of us, you could kick our ass.” </p><p>            Seteth doesn’t bother trying to correct Yuri this time, “Yes, you are quite skilled. I look forward to working with you.”</p><p>            “How about we all take a break and let Byleth get settled in before dinner?” Rhea suggests. “It sounds like you all had a long day.”</p><p>            “Yeah, I still gotta finish that essay for Mr. Xander’s class,” Claude groans. </p><p>            “He assigned that a week ago,” Edelgard points out. </p><p>            “And I put it off, does that surprise you princess?” Claude argues. </p><p>            “No.”</p><p>            “It’s due tomorrow,” Dimitri adds. </p><p>            “I know,” Claude says. </p><p>            The students start to head to the main elevator while Seteth and Rhea stay behind in the observation room to talk. </p><p>            “Are . . . you all still in high school?” Byleth asks. </p><p>            “Not me, I’m free from that hell,” Yuri says. </p><p>            “One more month, and then we’re done,” Dimitri says.</p><p>            “And then Rhea says that we can actually go out and use our powers,” Claude concludes. </p><p>            “What about you?” Edelgard asks. </p><p>            “I was home-schooled,” Byleth says. With her dad, the lessons and wisdom never seemed to stop, whether it was while fishing or in a drunken stupor. She had the feeling he was just doing the best he could, despite their situation. “But I would have been out of school right now regardless.”</p><p>            “How old are you?” Yuri asks. </p><p>            “20.”</p><p>            “Shit I’m not the oldest anymore.”</p><p>            They enter the elevator and the small talk continues, mostly with Claude trying to get Byleth to spill on where she came from. It’s not that interesting, she just traveled around the country with her dad. Once in the mansion, the two groups split off: the boys head to the second floor while Edelgard and Byleth continue to the third. </p><p>            “Your room is up here too?” Byleth asks. </p><p>            “Rhea separated the dorms, boys on the second and girls on the third,” Edelgard simply explains. She stops by one of the first few doors in the hallways and asks, “Where did Rhea put your room?”</p><p>            “Down the hall,” Byleth points. The room was simple: a bed, desk, dresser, closet, and vanity. More space than she was used to. </p><p>            “In the Danger Room,” Edelgard continues, keeping a steady stare leveled on her. “You used your power to reverse any mistake you made, making it seem like you fought flawlessly.”</p><p>            She wouldn’t call her fight flawless, but that’s basically what she did, “Yes.”</p><p>            “You said that you could only reverse a few minutes at a time. Is there a max for how much time you can reverse in a day?”</p><p>            “A couple hours. I have about an hour left in me, until I sleep.”</p><p>            Edelgard narrows her eyes, “You have honed your abilities finely. You are an excellent fighter. Why are you here?”</p><p>            Byleth stares back, “What?”</p><p>            “Dimitri and Claude have nowhere else to go. Yuri’s here because I think he finds all of this amusing,” Edelgard explains. “Why are you here?” </p><p>            She’s starting to get that these questions are a part of Edelgard’s evaluation of her. She may as well just tell the truth, “I’ve never been around other mutants before. It’s just been me and my dad, as long as I can remember.” Traveling the country in a shitty RV, stopping to fish or so he could get drunk, running from some imaginary threat. “Why are you here?”</p><p>            Edelgard crosses her arms, her gaze is still searing. But she finally offers an answer, “Security. I’ll see you at dinner, Byleth.” She disappears into her room, so Byleth heads to her own. </p><p>            Byleth is not sure about her new companions, but she still hopes that she can make some friends. </p>
<hr/><p>            Byleth’s first month at the mansion isn’t very exciting. She spends most of her time training with the other students preparing for this “first mission” Rhea is promising to send them on once Dimitri, Edelgard, and Claude all graduated and they proved themselves competent enough in their abilities. </p><p>            Individually, Byleth works with each one of her teammates very well. They all have different styles of fighting but she can adapt to them easily, optimizing how effective they can be. However, once you throw the whole group together, things go downhill fast. They all have big personalities that mash together in new and frustrating ways. It took Byleth a couple weeks to figure out why: they all wanted to be the leader. </p><p>            (Byleth asked Seteth what is the big deal about being team leader. He said that he had no idea because it was something he or Rhea had never mentioned to them. They seemed to have come up with the idea that their team needed a leader and no one was better for that position than themselves. In Seteth’s own opinion, Rhea, as the founder of Garreg Mach, is the leader). </p><p>            Outside of training, Byleth is left alone in the Mansion with Seteth, Yuri, and sometimes Rhea. At first, she spent most of her free time training until Yuri took pity on her one day because, in his own words, “she wasn’t having any fun”. He shows her the sauna in the locker rooms and the expansive massive library. He even tries to get her to cook in the kitchen. Even though Byleth enjoys these activities, Yuri will disappear at random and isn’t reliable in that regard. </p><p>            When the other three aren’t at school, training, or doing homework, Byleth is able to hang with them. Claude tries to teach her how to play video games and . . . she’s not that great. After a rocky start, Edelgard remained polite with Byleth, and they two started to play chess against one another. Edelgard hasn’t been able to beat her yet. Dimitri remains pleasant, and she often finds herself talking to him in the gym. </p><p>            But now, the three had graduated high school, made apparently by Claude blasting Alice Cooper as he and the others entered the mansion after their last day. </p><p>            “<em>School’s out forever!</em>” Claude attempts to sing as the doors to the mansion burst open. He dramatically slides onto his knees as he finishes, “<em>School’s been blown to pieces!</em>”</p><p>            “Please tell me that you actually did not blow up the school,” Seteth says. </p><p>            “It’s just a song, Seteth,” Claude sighs as he jumps up. “Anyways, we’re free!”</p><p>            “Congratulations,” Yuri says. </p><p>            “Today was just the last day, we don’t even have our diplomas yet,” Edelgard points out. </p><p>            “Goddess, you’re all kill-joys,” Claude complains. “We are finally free from the hell of high school and you can’t let me have one nice thing.”</p><p>            “I actually think I’ll miss it,” Dimitri says. </p><p>            Claude, Edelgard and Yuri all stare at Dimitri as Byleth says, “I’ve never been to high school, but I wish I could experience it just once.”</p><p>            “No you don’t,” Claude insists. “Anyway, do you think Rhea is gonna throw us a graduation party? I mean, the mansion’s got a pool. Perfect for a graduation pool party.”</p><p>            “I don’t think she’ll want to bring attention to a mansion filled with mutants,” Edelgard says. “With a secret complex and training facility literally called the Danger Room underneath.” </p><p>            “I agree,” Seteth says. “A horde of teenagers in the mansion seems like a bad idea.”</p><p>            “I think we deserve at least some type of recognition for our achievement,” Claude argues. “And if not here, Rhea’s loaded. We could rent out some place to party. I vote for mini golf.”</p><p>            “You will get recognized,” Rhea says as she appears on the balcony above. “I think it’s time for your first mission.”</p><p>            Everyone stares at Rhea.</p><p>            “You mean . . . for real?” Claude checks. </p><p>            Rhea nods, “Please meet me down in the Observation Room after you get changed.”</p><p>            The students look at each other before making a beeline for the elevator. They quickly get changed into the nearly identical costumes, padded with armor, asides from the color highlights. There are also masks that none of them have ever bothered to wear because-</p><p>            “Do we really have to wear this?” Claude complains as they enter the Observation Room together, waving the flimsy and skin-tight mask in his hand. “It feels like I’m wearing a condom on my head.”</p><p>            “It’s to protect your identities,” Rhea says. </p><p>            “The condom mask is really cramping my style,” Yuri insists.</p><p>            “A helmet would have done the same, and offer more protection,” Edelgard argues. </p><p>            “And it’s not . . . pleasant to wear,” Dimitri adds. </p><p>            “Would you five like to go on a mission or not?” Seteth sighs. </p><p>            That shuts them up. </p><p>            “Recently, there has been a string of robberies caused by an unknown assailant happening in near-by towns,” Rhea says. “However, when police look at CTV footage, they see that the robber simply vanishes out of the building.”</p><p>            She pulls up the grainy footage on one of the screens. A man dressed in green enters a bank, takes a bag full of money, and then disappears right into thin air. </p><p>            “I believe we are dealing with another mutant, and we must stop him,” Rhea says. </p><p>            “We’ve been tracking his progress as he travels across New York,” Seteth continues. “We think he’ll be coming to Westchester County next.”</p><p>            “That’s where you five come in,” Rhea concludes. “Your goal is to apprehend him before he continues his crime spree. I have faith in you.”</p>
<hr/><p>            Byleth’s beginning to think that Rhea’s faith was misplaced, as she doesn’t know what’s more embarrassing: they’re getting beat by a guy who’s willingly wearing a costume uglier than theirs or that the five of them can’t work together. </p><p>            The Vanisher, as he calls himself, is running laps around them by teleporting and causing problems. It’s a tactic Yuri often uses, but he’s not used to having it done to him. The Vanisher pops in and out of places that causes them to fire on themselves, creating more strife. So far, every time Byleth has had to reverse time is not because of the villain, but because of her own teammates. </p><p>            “Where’d he go?!” Dimitri growls after the Vanisher vanished.</p><p>            “I would be able to tell you if you hadn’t thrown a street light at me,” Edelgard sighs. “Also, you shouldn’t be causing more property damage than the actual villain.” </p><p>            “I think we should split up,” Claude says. “Cover more ground.”</p><p>            “I agree,” Yuri says. “If only to get away from the rest of you.”</p><p>            “No, we should stick together,” Edelgard insists.</p><p>            “Because <em>that’s</em> been working out great so far,” Yuri snarks. </p><p>            “It hasn’t been working out because you four refuse to work together,” Byleth finally speaks up. “No one is the leader. We’re teammates, we should be equals.”</p><p>            The four of them share a guilty look, but Yuri challenges her, “So. What do you think we should do?”</p><p>            “I think the Vanisher’s headed to the bank,” Byleth begins. “Yuri, you’re faster than he is. Do you think you could teleport into a spot he’s heading to before him?”</p><p>            “Probably, but it’s hard to predict what he’s going to do,” Yuri says. “What would that even accomplish?”</p><p>            “Stop him, hopefully,” Byleth says. “If not, we’ll just have to tire him out. The rest of us will try to chase him so we can see if he forms a pattern. It might take a bit of work, but it’s better than all of us attacking him on our own.”</p><p>            “It’s the best plan I’ve heard all night,” Edelgard agrees. “Let’s do it. </p>
<hr/><p>            Somehow, someway, they manage to catch the Vanisher. It’s almost two in the morning by the time they get back to the Mansion, but none of them are tired. With adrenaline in their veins, they’re still riding the high of a successful mission. </p><p>            “Good job, everyone,” Rhea says. “I’m glad your first mission was a success. I believe you’ll have many more victories in the future.”</p><p>            She bids them good night, but they don’t go to bed. Instead, they all go straight to the kitchen and begin to make an early morning-after mission snack. </p><p>            “We need a team name,” Claude says as they all hang around the kitchen island. “How about X-Men? Because, y’know, we have the X-Gene.”</p><p>            “We’re not all men,” Edelgard points out. </p><p>            “What about X-Factor?” Dimitri says. </p><p>            “That’s a TV show,” Claude counters. </p><p>            “X-Force.”</p><p>            “Nah.”</p><p>            “Excalibur,” Edelgard suggests. “Like King Aruthur’s sword.”</p><p>            “Clever, but you don’t realize how stupid humans are,” Claude argues. </p><p>            “Generation X,” Yuri throws out. </p><p>            “Hhm, no, we’re all Millenials, no one is actually a member of Gen X,” Claude says. </p><p>            “Except for maybe Rhea and Seteth,” Dimitri points out. </p><p>            “No, Rhea and Seteth are boomers, no matter what age they actually are,” Claude continues. “Mentally, they’re boomers.”</p><p>            “Why are we even restricting ourselves to the whole ‘X’ thing,” Edelgard says. “Like, we could be . . . the Strike Force.”</p><p>            “Marauders,” Yuri continues.</p><p>            “I like X-Men,” Byleth finally says. “It’s simple.”</p><p>            “Alright, that’s two votes for X-Men!” Claude declares. “We are officially the X-Men! Let’s hope we all survive the experience.”</p>
<hr/><p>            Many things have changed since the X-Men’s first mission against the Vanisher. </p><p>            Yuri left, secretly joining a group of mutants who lived in the sewers called the Morlocks. These mutants were ones whose mutations were too extreme to be accepted by society, and Yuri saw that they needed someone to protect them. </p><p>            To replace him, Rhea brought in Seteth’s daughter, Flayn. However, she was not allowed to join them on any mission due to Seteth’s over-protective nature. Her mutant power, healing, was very useful when they came back battered and bruised from a mission though. </p><p>            Finally, Byleth found a video game she was good at: the Wii Play fishing minigame.</p><p>            The X-Men faced each villain thrown at them and were victorious: Mesmero, the Blob, Lucifer (not a devil, just a guy in a costume), Unus the Untouchable, and more. However, they have never seen anything like this. </p><p>            “It’s a sentient island,” Byleth says. </p><p>            Rhea and Seteth stare at her. He mumbles, “A sentient island?”</p><p>            Byleth nods. </p><p>            “What about the mutant you were sent to find? Where were they?” Rhea asks. </p><p>            “There’s no one there, just the island,” Byleth continues. “But Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude are all still captured on the island. I barely got away. I’ve got to go back and get them.”</p><p>            “I could-” Flynn starts. </p><p>            “No,” Seteth cuts her off. “It’s too dangerous.”</p><p>            “Can you or Rhea come back with me?” Byleth asks. </p><p>            “No, our mutations won’t be . . . helpful in this situation,” Seteth says. Byleth realizes that she’s never learned what his or Rhea’s mutations are, but she doesn’t think about it too hard. She’s too caught up in her rescue mission. “And someone needs to stay here at the mansion to protect it.”</p><p>            “Our only option is to recruit new mutants,” Rhea says. </p><p>            “We don’t have time to train new X-Men,” Byleth points out. Her teammates are waiting for her. She doesn’t even know what horrors they’re experiencing on the island. </p><p>            “Don’t worry,” Rhea says. “I’ve been keeping an eye out for mutants, and there may be some who will have the training necessary to help us out. I will go out and recruit them, while you stay here to conserve your strength for the up-coming battle.”</p><p>            “I don’t know how much time we have,” Byleth stresses.</p><p>            “Do not lose faith in your teammates so easily,” Rhea says. “They are strong, and if we rush in unprepared you will only end up captured beside them. We need an effective plan and effective allies.”</p><p>            Byleth slumps back onto the bed. As much as she hates it, Rhea’s right. </p><p>            With that, Rhea leaves with Seteth right behind her. Flayn stays behind to continue healing Byleth’s wounds, “Don’t worry Byleth, have faith in Rhea and our friends.”</p><p>            She doesn’t say anything else. She just waits for Rhea to return. </p>
<hr/><p>            Rhea works fast, finding six mutants within two days. </p><p>            (Byleth later learns that there was one group of three and one group of two recruited together, but it was impressive at the time).</p><p>            Byleth watches from the balcony as Rhea leads the new mutants into the mansion. Just like she did for Byleth a year and a half ago, she waves her and says, “Welcome to the Garreg Mach Institute for Gifted Students.”</p><p>            “Y’know, we’re not quite kids, right?” a boy with messy orange hair says. He’s sticking close with a girl with blonde hair tied into a braid and a black-haired boy with a scowling face.</p><p>            “Yes, I do,” Rhea turns around. “But our goal is to help mutants learn how to control their powers and use them for good.”</p><p>            “So, like fighting bad guys, right?” a boy with light blue hair says. Standing behind him is a boy with longer green hair, who also looks like he’s falling asleep on his feet. </p><p>            “Why us?” a girl with long, brown hair and jewelry asks. </p><p>            “We need you,” Rhea says. </p><p>            She stares at Rhea, “I just <em>sing</em>.”</p><p>            “Yes, you can sing,” Rhea says. “But you can do more with it. More than you can imagine.”</p><p>            She doesn’t seem convinced. </p><p>            Byleth doesn’t want to stall anymore, “Rhea.”</p><p>            Rhea looks up at her nods, “Yes, but come now. Time is of the essence.”</p><p>            They don’t waste any more time, and Byleth follows the group to the elevator and down to the War Room, where the X-Men do most of their planning. Seteth and Flayn are already there, looking at a map of the island. </p><p>            “So, you have found more mutants,” Seteth says. </p><p>            “Hello!” Flayn adds. “Welcome to Garreg Mach!”</p><p>            “Should . . . we be concerned that you have an entire underground facility underneath your mansion?” the green-haired boy asks. </p><p>            “We use this for our operation,” Rhea says. “But let’s move along. This is Seteth and Flayn Cichol. Seteth is my right-hand man and Flayn is our healer. Behind you is Byleth, the leader of our field team. Please, introduce yourselves.”</p><p>            “I’m Caspar Bergliez,” the blue-haired boy begins. </p><p>            “What are your powers?” Byleth asks. </p><p>            Caspar blinks before he registers the request. He rolls up his sleeves to show off an indent at his wrists, “I’ve got rocket fists. Really good for punching people from far away.”</p><p>            “Linhardt Hevring,” the green-haired boy continues. “I put people to sleep.”</p><p>            “I’m Dorothea Arnault, you might have heard of me,” the brown-haired girl says. “I can control people’s minds when I sing.”</p><p>            “Sylvain Gautier, at your service,” Sylvain says with a wink. “I can generate earthquakes.”</p><p>            The girl with blonde hair elbows Sylvain as she introduces herself, “Ingrid Galatea, I have wings.” She pauses as everyone gives her a curious look, “They’re hidden in my shirt right now.”</p><p>            “Felix Fraldarius,” the black-haired boy finishes. “I can create a force-field around me.”</p><p>            “So, where’s the rest of the team?” Sylvain asks. </p><p>            “On Krakoa,” Byleth points to the map. </p><p>            Sylvain studies the map for a moment, “An island.”</p><p>            “A living island.”</p><p>            “What?” </p><p>            “That is why we have asked you to join us,” Rhea picks up. “The three other members of our field team have been captured by the living island. We need your help to rescue them.”</p><p>            “What good can we do?” Dorothea asks. </p><p>            “If it’s living, you could try to manipulate it,” Byleth realizes. “Or put it to sleep. Or tear it apart.”</p><p>            “Yes,” Rhea says with a nod of her head. “That is why I recruited you.”</p><p>            “And what about afterwards?” Felix asks. “Once you get your team back, what happens to us?”</p><p>            “I hope that you all will remain with us, you will be valuable members of our team with proper training,” Rhea says. “You also will be free to go if you wish. But, this is not just a place to train your powers, it is a safe place for mutants as well. You won’t find anywhere else in the world to accept you like we do.” </p><p>            The six mutants look around the room. Caspar is the first to speak, “I guess, let’s go fight an island.”  </p>
<hr/><p>            "So wait, the island was alive and had a humanoid form which you then sang a lullaby and put to sleep so you could then free us but it woke up which is why we had to fight it and the island was the mutant we were looking for all along?" Claude asks. </p><p>            Byleth nods, "pretty much."</p><p>            Claude stares at her while Edelgard sighs, "I've had worse weeks."</p><p>            "And who are all of the new people again?" Claude continues. </p><p>            "They're X-Men, Claude," Edelgard says. She turns to Dorothea, Caspar and Linhardt, "Thank you for coming to our aid. I don't know if we would have made it out without your help."</p><p>            "It's nothing," Dorothea says with a wave of her hand. "It's just … nice to know that I can use my power for something good."</p><p>            "And why are those three dogging on Dimitri?" Claude questions. </p><p>            Ingrid, Felix and Sylvain swarmed Dimitri once they were safe in the Blackbird. Byleth shrugs, "I guess they know him?"</p><p>            “So, are the six of you going to join the team?” Claude asks. </p><p>            “Maybe,” Dorothea says. </p><p>            “Yeah! That was fun!” Caspar shouts and punches the air. </p><p>            “Caspar has a unique definition of fun,” Linhardt sighs. “But, if he’s sticking around I guess I am too.”</p><p>            Byleth assumes that with the way Dimitri was talking with Sylvain, Ingrid and Felix they will stick around too. Things continue to change. </p>
<hr/><p>            And did things change. After adding the six new mutants to the team (after more training), Rhea began to recruit other mutants. Five became eleven, eleven became sixteen, sixteen became twenty, and so on and so forth. Suddenly, there were twenty-seven mutants living in the mansion. Rhea ended up hiring Hanneman and Manuela to help with training and teaching, but the Original Four (as the newer students took to calling Byleth, Edelgard, Claude and Dimitri) also became mentors too. </p><p>            Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude all had created their own small teams out of the friends they made with the new students. They tried to come up with unique names for each team, but settled on color-coding them to X-Men Red, Blue and Gold respectively. Byleth bounced between the teams when needed, and it seemed like the four of them were never on a mission together anymore. It was harder to get together outside of missions too, between training the new students and hanging out with them. </p><p>            The only person Byleth hung out with consistently anymore is Edelgard. </p><p>            Dorothea nicknamed their hang-outs “tea time”, because Byleth learned that Edelgard’s favorite tea is Bergamot and makes it for her whenever they spend time together. (Other students have also wanted to have tea time with Byleth, causing her to horde tea in her room. Her tea time with Edelgard will always be the most special). </p><p>            “Hey Edelgard,” Byleth calls through the door. “Can you let me in? My hands are full.”</p><p>            “One second!” Edelgard calls. It takes more than one second, more like a minute of shuffling noises and muffled swears, but she finally opens the door, “My apologizes. I lost track of time.”</p><p>            “What were you doing?” Byleth asks. She heads out to the small balcony, because it’s a beautiful day, and sets the tray of tea down on the table. </p><p>            “Just, getting ready for the day,” Edelgard says. The two of them have known each other for over two years, and Byleth’s getting the sense that she’s lying, “Why are you looking at me like that?”</p><p>            “What were you really doing?” </p><p>            Edelgard’s eyes go wide, but she sighs, “Don’t tell anyone else, alright?”</p><p>            Byleth nods, “I promise.”</p><p>            With a sigh, Edelgard brushes some of her long white hair back. There’s a discolored spot on the side of her head where no hair is growing. It takes Byleth a minute to realize that it’s some type of growth. Edelgard explains, “I was filing down . . . my horns.”</p><p>            “Oh,” Byleth says. That doesn’t surprise her too bad, many mutants have some physical manifestation of their mutation. Edelgard had just never mentioned hers. “Doesn’t that hurt?”</p><p>            “Not really,” Edelgard says. “I never let them grow out very far, so the bone never gets a chance to develop.”</p><p>            “Why don’t you grow them out?” Byleth asks. </p><p>            “Because . . . people will know that I’m a mutant,” Edelgard admits. “I don’t really care about that, but I’m supposed to take over my father’s company one day. He wants me to look ‘presentable’ AKA, not like a mutant.”</p><p>            “You don’t talk about your father a lot,” Byleth realizes. </p><p>            “He’s . . .” Edelgard sighs, and touches her temple. “I don’t talk to him a lot, not anymore. After he learned I was a mutant. He wanted me to hide it. I wanted to do something with my powers.”</p><p>            Byleth has heard the story for the other students. Usually they get rejected by their parents as soon as their mutant powers emerge. It makes her really value Jeralt and how he loves her no matter what, despite his own vices. </p><p>            It looks like Edelgard doesn’t want to continue talking about her dad, so Byleth suggests, “We should sit down. The tea will get cold.”</p><p>            “Of course.”</p><p>            They sit down and conversation flows as normal. Byleth usually tries to direct the topic away from training and missions, they don’t need to be thinking about that while taking a break. Sometimes there are days when that’s all they have to talk about. Thankfully, today is not one of them. </p><p>            “How are your online classes going?” Byleth begins. </p><p>            Out of the Original Four, Edelgard is the only one continuing her education, albeit online, “Good. I have a twelve-page essay on the gender pay gap due tonight at midnight and I’m about half-way through.”</p><p>            “Weren’t you the one always reminding Claude not to procrastinate?” Byleth teases.</p><p>            Edelgard swats her arm, “I know. I’ve been working on it in between missions and training exercises. I have a couple free hours tonight after a Danger Room session with my team. I can finish it in that time.”</p><p>            Byleth frowns, “I thought you were in the Danger Room this morning.”</p><p>            “I was. Personal session,” Edelgard says. </p><p>            “And then you went on a late mission yesterday too.”</p><p>            “I did.”</p><p>            She studies Edelgard for a moment. Even though she’s using make-up to conceal it, Byleth still notices the bags under her eyes, “Edelgard, are you getting enough sleep?”</p><p>            “I am.”</p><p>            “Are you sure?”</p><p>            “Yes,” Edelgard sighs. “Please, don’t worry about me Byleth. I can handle myself just fine. I have for a long time”</p><p>            “Okay,” Byleth agrees, but makes a note to keep an eye out for her friend. </p>
<hr/><p>            How did a fight against a group of rogue mutants turn into a giant robot fight? </p><p>            Byleth isn’t too sure. One minute she’s attempting to catch the thief known as Toad (and not get spit on) and the next she’s trying to avoid getting stepped on by a giant purple-and-black robot. </p><p>            The robot doesn’t seem to be on any side, targeting the Brotherhood and X-Men equally. It shoots a beam of energy at Toad, who climbs up a fire escape to avoid it, causing the robot to cut through the building. Caspar shoots his fists off at one of its legs, but they barely make a dent in the metal. </p><p>            She didn’t like these odds; this robot is bigger than anything they’ve ever faced before. Byleth dashes across the street, avoiding the laser, to Edelgard who is standing on the sidelines, “I think we need to retreat!”</p><p>            No response. Edelgard is frozen, staring up at the robot in horror. Byleth has never seen her like this. She rouses out of her stupor as soon as Byleth puts a hand on her shoulder, looking terrified for only a moment before she returns to her senses. Byleth has never seen her so scared.</p><p>            “We need to retreat,” Byleth repeats. “We aren’t prepared to deal with this.”</p><p>            “What if it follows us?” Edelgard asks. </p><p>            “Even so, we’ll be safer in the Blackbird,” Byleth says. </p><p>            Edelgard lets out a shaky sigh, “Alright. Let’s retreat.”</p><p>            Byleth gives the command over the intercom, and within five minutes they’re all in the Blackbird and taking off. </p><p>            “What was that?!” Bernadetta panics. </p><p>            “Why was it targeting us?” Dorothea adds. “We were trying to stop the Brotherhood. We’re the good guys.”</p><p>            Byleth doesn’t know, she can only shrug. Edelgard seems to have an answer thought. Her hands are clasped together in her lap she’s staring at the floor, but she says with conviction, “It was targeting us because we’re mutants.”</p><p>            “What?” Dorothea echoes.</p><p>            Edelgard looks up, “It’s a mutant hunter.”</p><p>            “How can you know that?” Ferdinand challenges. </p><p>            “Byleth!” Petra calls from the cockpit. “We are having a problem!”</p><p>            Byleth steps away from the group, “What’s wrong?”</p><p>            “Something is showing on the radar,” Petra says. “And gaining on us.”</p><p>            “Hhm,” Byleth tries to think. Edelgard did say that the robot would follow them, she may as well be careful, “Bernadetta and Ferdinand, can you get on the ECM. Bernadetta on offensive, Ferdinand on defensive. Petra, evasive maneuvers. Let’s see if we can lose this thing. I don’t want to bring it back to the Mansion.”</p><p>            Petra nods, as Bernadetta and Ferdinand get into place at the electronic countermeasure counsel. Caspar stands behind Bernadetta, most likely trying to give her encouragement so she can put her mutation, supernatural aim, to use. </p><p>            Byleth walks over to a side counsel, hoping to pull up a visual of whatever is pursuing them. It’s blurry, but she thinks she can see the purple-and-black exoskeleton of the robot. She grimaces as Petra announces, “It is gaining on us.”</p><p>            “Bernadetta, do you have a visual on it?” Byleth asks. </p><p>            “Uh . . . just about,” Bernadetta mumbles. “Do you want me to fire?”</p><p>            “As soon as you think you’ve got a good shot,” Byleth says. </p><p>            Bernadetta nods, taking aim with the controls. A few seconds later, she launches the missiles. From inside the Blackbird, they all can hear them explode on impact and the resounding vibrations shakes the hull of the plane. Bernadetta announces, “I think I hit it!”</p><p>            “It is not slowing,” Petra advises.</p><p>            “Fire again,” Byleth commands. Bernadetta fires two more missile strikes, and only after that is the robot looking a little worse for wear and is slowing down. She decides that’s good enough for now, “Petra, let’s try to lose it now. Bernadetta, keep an eye on it.”</p><p>            The Blackbird picks up speed and they manage to lose the robot. Byleth makes them circle around Westchester county before landing at the mansion to make sure they didn’t bring it back. Even though it’s gone, Byleth can’t get rid of the sinking feeling in her stomach. </p><p>            It only plummets when Claude runs into the hangar announcing, “You guys have to come and see this.” </p><p>            A good portion of the school is squeezed into the War Room. They must have been training when the news broadcast started. Byleth, Edelgard and the rest of their team manage to fit in at the back of the room as everyone watches the news on the big screen. </p><p>            A greasy looking man standing at a podium continues, “<em>-I, Volkhard Arundel, am proud to announce TWS Industries’ newest defense innovation. No longer, will humans have to cower in fear of the mutant menace. For now, we have our own guardians: The Sentinels.</em>”</p><p>            When the camera pans away from Volkhard, it reveals a robot identical to the one they fought: purple and black and at least three stories high. The audience at the conference erupts in applause, while all the mutants present stare at the screen in horror. </p><p>            Byleth manages to tear her gaze away and looks at Edelgard beside her, who wears the same terrified look she had when they faced the Sentinel. </p>
<hr/><p>            Despite the threat of the Sentinels, the X-Men try to carry on as normal. Seteth implements Sentinels into Danger Room training, hoping that they can prepare everyone to fight the mutant-killing machines. To keep morale up, Rhea encourages group activities like board games and movie nights. </p><p>            Tonight is one such movie night, but Byleth can’t sit still for long. She is still thinking about the Sentinel program in the Danger Room she did today, as no one has managed to succeed at it once. The only thing she can think of doing with this restless energy is to return to the Danger Room and train some more. </p><p>            Byleth stops by her room first to grab a change of clothes. When she leaves, she hears a scream from Edelgard’s room. </p><p>            Edelgard also opted out of movie night, claiming she had homework to work on. Byleth has been growing increasingly worried about her after their first encounter with a Sentinel, as since it looks like she has been getting less and less sleep. </p><p>            Byleth pounds on her door, “Edelgard! Are you alright?”</p><p>            When she doesn’t get a response in the next thirty seconds, she’s prepared to knock the door down. It swings open before she can. Edelgard stands in the doorway, looking like a barely-held together mess. Byleth has never seen her look like this. </p><p>            “Yes, I’m fine,” Edelgard answers, sounding robotic. </p><p>            “You screamed.”</p><p>            “It’s nothing.”</p><p>            Byleth narrows her eyes. The bags under Edelgard’s eyes are more pronounced and her hair is out of place. Something is wrong, but she doesn’t want to press her, “You know you can tell me anything, right? Because we’re friends.”</p><p>            Edelgard’s eyes widen for a moment as she considers her words, “If . . . If I tell you, will you promise to not tell anyone else?”</p><p>            “I promise,” Byleth solemnly nods. </p><p>            Edelgard ushers her into her room. Though it looks like she just woke up, her bed is perfectly made. Her desk is another story, with papers and books scattered across it and notes haphazardly thrown on the ground. Byleth sits at the desk while Edelgard sits on the edge of her bed, perched at the edge like she’ll have to jump into action at a moment’s notice. </p><p>            “I had a nightmare,” Edelgard says. “That’s it.”</p><p>            Things start to fall into place in Byleth’s mind, “Do you have these nightmares frequently?”</p><p>            Considering the bags under Edelgard’s eyes and how she seems to prefer doing anything other than sleeping, it’s not a hard conclusion to make. Still, Edelgard seems hesitant to answer the question, “. . . Yes. I’ve had these nightmares for a while, but I’ve had one every night since we first fought the Sentinel.”</p><p>            “I wouldn’t blame you,” Byleth says. “The Sentinels . . . are seriously scary.”</p><p>            “It’s not the Sentinels,” Edelgard says. “It’s Arundel.”</p><p>            “The guy who made them?”</p><p>            Edelgard nods, “I’ve known him for quite a while. Years ago, he and TWS made an agreement with my father’s company, Adrestrian Industries. Arundel began to weasel his way into every aspect of his company and family until he basically controlled his life. Because of him, I had to run away. That’s why I ended up at Garreg Mach, to stay away from him. He’s a truly terrible man.”</p><p>            Years ago, Edelgard told her that she came to Garreg Mach for security. Byleth now understands what she meant by that. Byleth doesn’t really know what to say, “And now he builds mutant-killing robots.”</p><p>            “It seems I can’t escape him,” Edelgard sourly chuckles. </p><p>            “I won’t let him get to you,” Byleth says. “No one here would let him touch you again. Whether he’s behind a giant killer robot or not.”</p><p>            Edelgard stares at the ground, wringing her wrists. </p><p>            “You’re not alone,” Byleth gently reminds her. </p><p>            “I-” Edelgard stops and takes a deep breath. “Thank-you, Byleth. I know he can’t hurt me <em>here</em>, but I worry that when I . . . never mind. I appreciate you listening to me.”</p><p>            “If you ever want someone to talk to, or if you have another nightmare,” Byleth says. “You can come to me.”</p><p>            “Even if it’s in the dead of the night?” Edelgard checks. </p><p>            “Especially,” Byleth nods. “I don’t want you to feel alone.”</p><p>            “Thank-you,” Edelgard sighs. </p><p>            Byleth stands up and looks at the scattered notes, “You should come down to movie night with me. They’re marathoning High School Musical and they might have just started the second one.”</p><p>            “I haven’t seen the first.”</p><p>            “Neither have I, but it’s a Disney Channel Original Movie so I doubt we’re missing much.”</p><p>            For the first time that evening, Edelgard genuinely laughs. Byleth can’t help but smile and holds out her hand. Her heart skips a beat when Edelgard takes it to stand up, “I can’t argue with that. Let’s go join everyone.”</p>
<hr/><p>            Edelgard is going to college. </p><p>            Edelgard is leaving the team to go to college. </p><p>            She has gotten word that her father’s health is declining, and she needs to be prepared to take over the company should he pass. Unlike some other students, she has been taking online college classes, but she has to get serious now. So, she’s going to college. On the other side of the country. </p><p>            Dorothea is the one to insist on throwing her a going-away party. Mercedes makes Edelgard’s favorite sweets, Claude smuggles in some alcohol, Dorothea pulls out the karaoke machine, and they all chip in to get her a present. But, Byleth feels a bit disconnected from all of this. She can’t believe that Edelgard is leaving. </p><p>            The party goes late into the night. The next morning everyone is sleeping in late either because they had over-indulged on Claude’s bootleg booze or they were physically exhausted from too many rounds of karaoke. Byleth had done neither, so she gets up and heads into the gardens. </p><p>            Edelgard is leaving this morning. </p><p>            Byleth goes about her usual routine, making sure that all the flowers are watered and looking healthy. The early morning August air is cool, a relief from the burning hot summer they just suffered through. </p><p>            “Byleth?”</p><p>            She looks up and between the bushes, she can see Edelgard wandering the gardens, presumably looking for her. She’s dressed, ready to head to the airport. Byleth almost doesn’t want to face her, saying goodbye is more painful than she realized. But, Edelgard looks worried. She doesn’t want her to be worried. </p><p>            “Hey,” Byleth steps out from behind the hedge. </p><p>            “Hello,” Edelgard instantly relaxes, her concern melting away into a soft smile. “You’re up early.”</p><p>            “I didn’t drink last night,” Byleth says. “Besides, it’s nicer in the morning.”</p><p>            “It is,” Edelgard says. “But speaking of last night, I . . . I didn’t really see you.”</p><p>            “I was there,” Byleth insists. “You were just having fun with everyone else. I didn’t want to disturb you.” </p><p>            Edelgard frowns again, “Are you alright?”</p><p>            Byleth isn’t alright. It’s hard to put her feelings into words, but she tries her best, “I . . . I’m gonna miss you.”</p><p>            “I’m going to miss you too,” Edelgard says. “I don’t really want to go, the past three years I’ve spent here have been the best I’ve known but . . . I have an obligation to my family. But I won’t be gone forever, I’ll be back once I finish my classes in three years, maybe sooner.”</p><p>            “That’s still a long time,” Byleth says. </p><p>            “And I’ll just be in California.”</p><p>            “That’s on the other side of the country.”</p><p>            “You have access to two private, high-speed jets.”</p><p>            “Oh right. I don't think Rhea will appreciate me taking it out for a joy-ride.”</p><p>            “Probably not,” Edelgard laughs. “We can always text and call each other. I want to know if you all are okay, with whatever the world throws at you.”</p><p>            Byleth actually isn’t too sure about knowing how to use her smartphone, but she is willing to learn (AKA: bug Dorothea or Claude until they help her) if it means she can stay in touch with Edelgard.</p><p>            “I’ll stay in touch,” Byleth says. “I promise.” </p><p>            Edelgard opens her mouth, but is cut-off by a blaring horn, echoing from the front of the mansion. She sighs, “That’s probably the cab from the airport. I’ve got to go.”</p><p>            “So . . . goodbye?” Byleth says. </p><p>            “This isn’t a goodbye,” Edelgard says. “I’ll be back. That, I can promise.”</p><p>            “Then see you soon?” Byleth tries again. </p><p>            “I’ll see you soon,” Edelgard says as she walks away. “And I’ll text you once I get off the plane!”</p><p>            “Alright,” Byleth watches Edelgard walk away. She stays in the garden and hears the slam of the car door and as it speeds away from the mansion. The hole Edelgard left is already apparent, but the promise of hearing from her soon dulls the pain a little. </p><p>            Byleth heads inside, and notices Dorothea standing right at the door. She’s drinking something, most likely a hang-over cure, “Man, Byleth, you’ve got it bad.”</p><p>            “What do you mean?” Byleth asks. </p><p>            “Your crush. On Edie,” Dorothea says. She leans over to pat Byleth’s head, “You look like a heart-broken puppy.”</p><p>            Byleth stares at Dorothea, “I . . . I don’t have a crush on Edelgard. She’s a good friend.”</p><p>            Dorothea stares at her before letting out a long sigh and murmuring into her drink, “Oh gods you’re worse than I thought.”</p>
<hr/><p>            Byleth texts Edelgard every day. </p><p>            She’s not great at texting. Dorothea and Claude developed a whole class to try and teach her and they gave up after three weeks. But, she’s able to communicate with Edelgard just fine. </p><p>            They don’t talk about much, since Edelgard is busy with school and Byleth is terrible at small talk. It tends to be small check-ins with each other, making sure that Edelgard is surviving college and Byleth is surviving the X-Men. Sometimes, Edelgard will vent college work and her professors. Sometimes, Byleth has stories about the other students and their shenanigans. Overall, it’s nice to hear from Edelgard. </p><p>            Today, she’s complaining about college. </p><p> </p><p><strong>Edelgard</strong>: I swear, economics isn’t a social science it’s a bastard’s science. Some of the things they’re teaching in these classes are absolutely criminal. </p><p> </p><p><strong>Byleth</strong>: that sucks</p><p> </p><p><strong>Edelgard</strong>: I know, all of my teachers are jackasses too. Gods, once I become the CEO of Hresvelg Industries I am going to make sure that people are treated and paid fairly. </p><p><strong>Edelgard</strong>: Everything these assholes are teaching me goes straight into the “do not do” list in my head. </p><p><strong>Edelgard</strong>: I hate these classes.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Byleth</strong>: are you taking all business classes this semester or are you taking at least one art class</p><p> </p><p><strong>Edelgard</strong>: I do have one art class, thankfully. Hopefully that will keep me sane. </p><p> </p><p>            “Hey Byleth!” Claude shouts as he runs down the halls for her. “Rhea’s been looking for you! We’ve got a mission!”</p><p>            Byleth nods, quickly texts Edelgard back, and runs after him.  </p>
<hr/><p>            A factory owned by a known anti-mutant businessman is being attacked by mutants. Byleth doesn’t understand why they’re going in to support that asshole, but Rhea says it’s because the X-Men are trying to be “the better person”. </p><p>            It’s a small team, made of Byleth, Claude, Petra, Caspar, Felix and Ingrid. They aren’t expecting it to be a big thing. They didn’t expect the building to be on fire either. </p><p>            “Are we too late?” Caspar asks, leaning into the cockpit of the Blackwing. </p><p>            “Never too late,” Claude insists. </p><p>            “Ingrid, take Felix and go down there,” Byleth commands. “See if you can help with evacuating people. Claude, land down in that open lot.”</p><p>            Claude nods as Ingrid grabs Felix and flies out of one of the doors. Byleth keeps her eyes on her wings as they circle around and land. The four of them quickly file out and run over to the burning building. There’s a crowd outside the building, and from the uniforms it looks like they’re the employees. They must have been evacuated before the fire. The workers step aside for the mutants, not wanting to get involved any further. </p><p>            Byleth hears fighting inside. Between the rising flames, she can see Felix and Ingrid fighting a figure with a white helmet and dark robes. Flames shoot from their hands, blocked by one of Felix’s shields. </p><p>            “Claude and Petra, go around to flank them,” Byleth instructs. “Caspar, you’re with me.”</p><p>            “Got it,” Claude says, and heads into the flames with Petra. </p><p>            She stays back with Caspar. Once Claude gives the signal, they rush in. All four of them are pushed back by a raging inferno surrounding the figure. </p><p>            “You can’t surprise me,” they say, the white mask is emotionless. </p><p>            “Who are you?” Byleth asks. </p><p>            “I am the Flame Emperor,” they reveal. “And I will liberate mutantkind.”</p>
<hr/><p>            They don’t capture the Flame Emperor that day. Or the next time. Or the time after that. The mutant extremist slips through their hands each time and appears when they least expect it. Like now. </p><p>            Rhea sent Byleth and her team out to find an artifact used by an ancient mutant. Something about it “falling into the wrong hands”. When they get to the ancient tomb, the Flame Emperor and his team of mutants are there looking for it as well. </p><p>            “I’m getting sick of this guy,” Caspar sighs as he takes cover from the flames behind a stone coffin. </p><p>            “Well, at least we’re almost at the artifact,” Dorothea sighs. </p><p>            “There’s too many of them!” Bernadetta insists. “We should probably just go.”</p><p>            “Nonsense! We can handle them!” Ferdinand tries to bolster her. “We can do anything together.”</p><p>            “No, Bernadetta is right. We probably need to go,” Byleth says. </p><p>            “What?” Ferdinand and Bernadetta gasp. </p><p>            “I need you all to distract the Flame Emperor and her allies,” Byleth says. “I’m going to make a run for the artifact. Once I have it, we retreat.”</p><p>            “We’re not going to take in the reprobate?” Ferdinand asks. </p><p>            “What’s more important is making sure that the Flame Emperor doesn’t get their hands on it,” Byleth decides. “We go on three . . . one . . . two . . . three!”</p><p>           Byleth runs towards the tomb at the end of the room, dodging blows as best as she can. She only has to reverse time once or twice to avoid getting hit, but she seems to be in the clear. The Flame Emperor only realizes how far she’s gotten once she’s at the tomb. </p><p>            “Stop her!” the Flame Emperor bellows as she opens the tomb. Inside is . . . a sword. </p><p>            It’s a strange sword. It appears to be made of bone, and the blade is segmented. However, if this is what Rhea wants them to get, she’ll grab it. As soon as she touches the hilt, pain seers through her hand, burning her skin, “ARGH!”</p><p>            Her vision goes black. </p><p>            Byleth is standing at the foot of a large, stone throne. Sitting on top of it is a young girl with green hair, and despite her demeanor she gives off an aura of power. She cocks her head to the side and raises an eyebrow, “<strong>Who are you</strong>?”</p><p>            And then she wakes back up. </p><p>            She’s lying on the stairs of the tomb with her teammates surrounding her. Linhardt is kneeling by her, while everyone else is leaning over her and surrounding her vision. </p><p>            “Byleth,” Dorothea begins. “Are you alright?”</p><p>            “What happened?” Ferdinand adds. </p><p>            “Where’s the Flame Emperor?” Byleth asks as she attempts to sit up. She doesn’t feel hurt, so she’s probably not hurt. </p><p>            “Sit back down,” Linhardt half-heartedly pushes her back. “I’m still checking on you.”</p><p>            “He left after you started glowing,” Caspar says. </p><p>            “I started glowing?” Byleth looks around. </p><p>            “You did,” Bernadetta says. “It was kinda scary, but at least it scared away our enemies.” </p><p>            “Where did the sword go?” Ferdinand asks. “It disappeared after you stopped glowing.”</p><p>            “What? It’s right here-” Byleth raises her empty hand. As she does so, it appears in her grasp. Dorothea, Bernadetta and Ferdinand all have to jump back to avoid getting stabbed. Byleth stares at the sword, “Huh. So that happened.” </p>
<hr/><p>            According to Rhea, the magical sword is called the “Sword of the Creator” and is bonded to Byleth now. She can summon it, dispel it, and turn it into a whip at will. But magic swords are the least of their problems: the Flame Emperor is working with Those Who Slither. </p><p>            It doesn’t make sense to Byleth: why a mutant extremist is working with people who want to turn mutants into their own personal army of super soldiers. They both seem to have a problem with the X-Men so maybe they’re doing the whole “enemy of my enemy” thing. This correlation sets Dimitri off, the idea that someone who claims that he’s here to “save mutantkind” is working with the same people who killed his parents and doomed Duscur. </p><p>            But Byleth isn’t entirely sold yet. Even if the Flame Emperor appears to be working with TWS, she’s still attacking and dismantling their Sentinel factories and opposing them when they do anything too heinous. Their alliance must be very tenuous. </p><p>            Byleth doesn’t think about it too much after her dad dies. </p>
<hr/><p>            No matter how many times she tries to turn back time, Kronya’s blade still pierces through Jeralt’s chest. She’s running out of energy to keep on trying. After an endless amount of failed attempts, she falls to her knees, utterly defeated. </p><p>            Jeralt’s lifeless body falls to the ground. The Flame Emperor attacks Kronya. Thales comes for both of them and teleports away before Byleth can see the outcome. She puts them out of mind and runs to her dad. </p>
<hr/><p>            Jeralt leaves her two things: a notebook and a ring.</p><p>            The only thing that gets Byleth out of her slump after her dad dies is a visit from Edelgard. Everyone tries: Rhea, Claude, Dimitri, Flynn, Dorothea, and more. They have to call in the cavalry and Edelgard flies all the way from California to help Byleth to move on. Apparently, she just needs to hear it from her. </p><p>            But Edelgard can’t stay for long. When she leaves, Byleth is back on her feet and ready to get revenge against Kronya. Without grief clouding her eyes, she has one question: why did the Flame Emperor attack Kronya for killing her father, a human?</p>
<hr/><p>            “How upset should I be that we just fought child versions of ourselves?” Dorothea asks. </p><p>            “I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” Byleth says. </p><p>            “But they were children,” Dorothea argues. “And technically us!”</p><p>            “Yeah, but they were also cartoons, basically,” Caspar says. “Actually, they were kinda fun to punch. They bounced all over the room.”</p><p>            Dorothea slaps Caspar, as Linhardt adds, “They were made by Mojo. He’s evil. Y’know, the same Mojo that forced you to audition in MojoWorld Idol while the rest of us played the Most Dangerous Game. He’s evil.”</p><p>            “He’s also a dictator,” Ferdinand continues. </p><p>            “And the cartoons were being very annoying!” Petra says, from the cockpit of the Blackwing. </p><p>            “And kinda creepy,” Bernadetta says. “I mean, none of us actually act like that.”</p><p>            Lysithea looks around the room and asks, “Are <em>all</em> of our missions this weird?!”</p><p>            Lysithea is the newest (and youngest) mutant to graduate to X-Man status. She’s a prodigy in many respects, and her mutation is powerful. It’s a bit unfortunate that her second mission on Byleth’s team had to be to MojoWorld. </p><p>            “No,” Dorothea answers. </p><p>            “Yes,” Byleth counters. </p><p>            “Shit gets pretty weird at times,” Caspar says. “Remember the Savage Lands! Oh, that was so fun!”</p><p>            “You’re the only one who thought that was fun,” Ferdinand says. </p><p>            “Because I got to wrestle a fucking dinosaur,” Caspar argues. “You’re just salty because you tripped and got a face-full of dino shit.”</p><p>            “Thanks for reminding me.”</p><p>            “Actually, I do like all of the cool plants in the Savage Land,” Bernadetta adds. “Not the dinosaurs, though.” </p><p>            “I’m sorry, what about dinosaurs?” Lysithea asks. </p><p>            “Did Claude never fill you in about the Savage Land?” Byleth asks. </p><p>            “<em>No.</em>”</p><p>            “Ah, well it’s a place in the arctic where there’s dinosaurs.”</p><p>            “<em>That doesn’t explain anything</em>.”</p><p>            Petra lands the Blackwing and once it’s parked, everyone files out to go get changed and relaxed. </p><p>            “But why is there a tropical paradise at the south pole?” Lysithea asks. </p><p>            “I don’t know,” Byleth shrugs. “I don’t ask those types of questions anymore after Krakoa.”</p><p>            “Krakoa?”</p><p>            “The living island.”</p><p>            “<em>What</em>.” </p><p>            Lysithea looks like she’s about to ask more questions, but Byleth gets caught off-guard when someone calls her name. She turns around and spots Edelgard entering the hangar.</p><p>            “Edelgard!” Byleth calls back and runs over. Edelgard hugs her and Byleth is so surprised at the contact it takes her a second to react, “You’re back early.”</p><p>            “My flight got cancelled and I managed to grab an earlier one,” Edelgard explains. Byleth notices a grim looking man standing behind her, but as the rest of the team swarms them, she doesn’t have time to question it. She gets distracted further when Edelgard asks, “How was your mission?”</p><p>            “Okay,” Byleth says. “It was a weird one.”</p><p>            “Weird in general or weird for us?”</p><p>            “Weird for us.”</p><p>            “Oh boy.”</p><p>            “Yeah, we had to fight cartoon baby versions of ourselves,” Caspar says. “They were called the X-Babies.”</p><p>            Edelgard stares at Caspar for a moment. The dark man behind her says, “You didn’t tell me it was going to be like this.”</p><p>            “It usually isn’t,” she sighs. </p><p>            Now, everyone else has noticed the man. Bernadetta hides behind Dorothea as she asks, “Edie, who is your friend?”</p><p>            “This is Hubert Vestra,” Edelgard beckons him forward. “He’s a childhood friend of mine, and we ran into each other while I was at school. As it turns out, he’s a mutant too.”</p><p>            “What’s your power?” Linhardt asks. </p><p>            Hubert raises his hand, and a dark vortex spins in his palm, “Umbrakinesis. I can manipulate shadows.”</p><p>            “I was showing Hubert around when I heard you all were returning,” Edelgard continues. “I had to see you all again.”</p><p>            “You’re going to join our team again now that you’re back, right Edie?” Dorothea asks. “We all missed you too.”</p><p>            “If you’ll have me,” Edelgard says. </p><p>            “Of course we want you back,” Byleth says. She hears an ‘ahem’ from behind her, where Lysithea is giving her a pointed look, “Oh, we have introductions to make too. Edelgard, this is Lysithea, the newest member of our team. Lysithea, this is-”</p><p>            “Edelgard Hresvelg, AKA the Black Eagle,” Lysithea finishes. “You’re one of the Original Four. I’ve heard of you.” </p><p>            “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you Lysithea,” Edelgard says. “I look forward to working with you.”</p><p>            Lysithea pauses, narrowing her eyes as she studies Edelgard. She seems to have passed whatever test Lysithea has, “I do too.”</p><p>            “Alright well, I’ll let you all go give Rhea your report. I have to finish giving Hubert the tour,” Edelgard says. As the others walk away, she touches Byleth’s arm, “Byleth, you and I should catch up later.”</p><p>            Byleth pauses, “Over tea?”</p><p>            “I’d love that.”</p><p>            Edelgard softly smiles and walks away with Hubert, who ducks down and begins whispering to her. Byleth can’t help but smile. Edelgard’s finally back. </p>
<hr/><p>            Edelgard has another nightmare. </p><p>            Her first mission back is another Sentinel fight, something that has become routine to the X-Men, but like the first time they had faced them she was deeply unsettled. Byleth only knows that it had followed her back into her dreams because she sees Edelgard head into the gardens late at night as she came back from training. </p><p>            “Edelgard?” Byleth asks, following her out into the gardens. “Is everything alright?” </p><p>            She jumps, but sighs when she sees who it is, “Oh, it’s just you. I . . . couldn’t sleep.”</p><p>            “Another nightmare?” Byleth guesses. </p><p>            Edelgard can only nod. </p><p>            Byleth sits down on the bench next to Edelgard. She doesn’t want to push anything, Edelgard will speak when she’s ready, but Byleth knows that she doesn’t want to be alone.</p><p>            “Thank-you,” Edelgard says, in a small voice. “For staying here.”</p><p>            “It’s no problem.”</p><p>            “I . . . feel as though I owe you an explanation. For my nightmares,” Edelgard begins. </p><p>            “You don’t have to,” Byleth places a hand on her shoulder. “You don’t owe me anything. I’m here because you’re my friend. And you already told me about Arundel.”</p><p>            “There’s more. And I . . . I want to tell you. I want you to know,” Edelgard insists. “Because you're my friend.”</p><p>            “Okay. Only if you want.”</p><p>            Edelgard nods again and takes a deep breath, “You know how Arundel was involved in my life before Garreg Mach, but there is more to that story. After he trapped my father in a cage of legal documents and agreements, Arundel kidnapped me and my father could do nothing about it. He took me to a facility in Canada known as Weapon X, where he experimented on me and others to see if he could manipulate the X-Gene. I believe I was the only one who survived. I eventually escaped and came here. And now with his Sentinels . . . I suppose that if he couldn’t have any mutants for him to control, he decided to just get rid of all of them.”</p><p>            “Edelgard that’s . . .” Byleth tries to find words. “Horrible. I . . .”</p><p>            “We can’t change the past,” Edelgard says, she leans forward and grips the edges of the bench. “We simply must move forward.”</p><p>            “But . . . you don’t have to carry this alone,” Byleth places a hand over Edelgard’s, who gasps in surprise at the touch. “Not anymore. We won’t let Arundel hurt anyone else.”</p><p>            “That’s right,” Edelgard takes her hand and squeezes it, and Byleth can feel heat rise to her cheeks. “One day, we’ll be able to destroy TWS and Arundel. For now, we can stop him from hurting other mutants . . . thank-you again, Byleth.”</p>
<hr/><p>            “En Sabah fucking Nur Byleth,” Dorothea begins. “You have a crush on Edelgard.”</p><p>            Byleth was wondering why Dorothea had dragged her into her room. She supposes this is why, “No, I don’t.”</p><p>            “You looked like a lost puppy when she left for college, she was the only person who could get you out of your grief, and you look at her like she’s the sun,” Dorothea pushes. Byleth stares at her blankly. “Okay, let’s try this: tell me how you feel about Edelgard.”</p><p>            “Well, she’s a good friend and I enjoy spending time with her,” Byleth begins. “She may seem rough on the outside, but you and I both know that on the inside she’s kind and determined. I like to see her smile. I want her to be happy. I hope that we continue to be good friends in the future because I like having her in my life. And y’know, she <em>is</em> pretty. And I do feel warm when I look at her.”</p><p>            “Byleth,” Dorothea groans. “That is a crush. You are the textbook definition of pining, right now.”</p><p>            “Oh,” is all Byleth can say. She has a crush on Edelgard. It feels like this should be a massive revelation but she’s always felt this way. She now has a name for her feelings, “So, uh . . . what now?”</p><p>            Dorothea grins, “Well, I’m glad you asked.”</p>
<hr/><p>            Byleth is nervous. After getting her to come to terms with her crush on Edelgard, Dorothea helps her come up with a game plan to ask her out. However, as Byleth grips the bouquet of flowers and stares at Edelgard’s door, all of her plans fall out of her head. She has faced down dinosaurs, mutant extremists, homicidal arcade games, and cartoon babies. She can ask Edelgard out. </p><p>            She knocks on the door. </p><p>            No answer.</p><p>            She knocks again. </p><p>            No answer. </p><p>            Okay, maybe she can’t do this.</p><p>            She turns around, ready to give up, when she almost runs into Edelgard. Byleth manages to stop herself, but the two are inches apart.</p><p>            “Byleth?” Edelgard asks. “Were you looking for me?”</p><p>            “Uhm . . .” Byleth tries to remember what Dorothea told her to say, but nothing comes up. She can only nod. </p><p>            Edelgard raises an eyebrow and waits for her to continue, but nothing comes. She looks at the flowers and asks, “Are those carnations?”</p><p>            “Yes,” Byleth forces her brain to form words and sticks her arm out. “For you.”</p><p>            “Oh,” Edelgard takes the bouquet, and Byleth manages to remember to remove her fingers. “They’re lovely Byleth, what’s the occasion?”</p><p>            “I wanted to,” Byleth’s brain starts to catch up and strings words together. Hopefully it could produce something slightly intelligent. “Ask you.”</p><p>            “Ask me what?”</p><p>            “Out.”</p><p>            Edelgard’s eyes go wide and a small blush spreads across her cheeks, “Are you . . . asking me to go out on a date?”</p><p>            Byleth nods.</p><p>            “I would love to go on a date with you, Byleth,” Edelgard says with a smile. </p><p>            “Really?”</p><p>            “Yes.”</p><p>            The nerves dissipate and Byleth returns the smile, “Good. Uh . . . how do you feel about tomorrow? I’ve got to do training with Claude tonight but tomorrow we can go to the Italian place you like in town.”</p><p>            “That sounds lovely Byleth,” Edelgard says. “So, we’ll meet at the mansion foyer at six?”</p><p>            “Yeah,” Byleth says. “I’ll . . . I’ll probably see you between now and then so I guess, that’s a plan.”</p><p>            “I’m looking forward to it.”</p>
<hr/><p>            Byleth feels like she’s walking on air. She hasn’t stopped smiling since she talked to Edelgard yesterday. Surprisingly, she actually hasn’t seen her since their talk, but Edelgard texted her to say that she had to meet with her Uncle and would be back by six. </p><p>            She’s heading to the front of the mansion right now, after Dorothea and Mercedes helped her get ready. They gave up on trying to do anything with her hair, she managed to avoid any attempts at applying make-up, and she insisted on wearing her signature jacket, so they didn’t have much to work with. Still, she thinks she looks nice. Hopefully Edelgard will like it. </p><p>            As soon as Byleth steps out of her room, Rhea is on her, “Byleth. I need to talk to you.”</p><p>            “Can it wait?” Byleth asks. “I’m supposed to be meeting up with Edelgard-”</p><p>            “It’s urgent,” Rhea insists. “Everything else must wait.”</p><p>            “Will it at least be quick?” </p><p>            “It should.”</p><p>            “Then let me tell Edelgard I might be late.”</p><p>            “Meet me in my office when you’re done.”</p><p> </p><p><strong>Byleth</strong>: rhea wants to talk to me i might be late sorry</p><p> </p><p><strong>Edelgard</strong>: Don’t worry, I’m running late too. My uncle had an endless amount of things to criticize me on and I just got a chance to slip away. </p><p> </p><p><strong>Byleth</strong>: tell him to shut up or ill punch him</p><p> </p><p><strong>Edelgard</strong>: I wish I could, but I should be back soon. </p><p> </p><p>            Byleth pockets her phone and heads towards Rhea’s office. She hopes that whatever Rhea wants to talk about doesn’t take too long. </p>
<hr/><p>           Byleth stares at Rhea, “What?”</p><p>            “You are destined to become the vessel for the cosmic force known as Sothis,” Rhea repeats herself. </p><p>            She blinks. Tries to process what Rhea just says. Can’t. She shakes her head, “No.”</p><p>            “You are,” Rhea stands up. “The Sword of the Creator, the divine weapon of Seiros, chose <em>you</em>. Once you become Sothis’ host, she will be able to manifest physically once again and fix <em>everything</em>.”</p><p>            “No, I’m not,” Byleth repeats and heads towards the door. Rhea holds her arm out, stopping her. </p><p>            “You must listen to me,” Rhea continues. “After everything I have done for you, all I ask is that you trust me about this.”</p><p>            Byleth has gone through a lot of stupid shit during her time with the X-Men, however this takes the cake. She wonders if Rhea got enough sleep last night. Rhea looks fine but . . . an alien cosmic force that wants to make her its host? It’s not a jump Byleth is willing to make. </p><p>            “I’ve got to go,” Byleth says. </p><p>            “Sothis will be here by the end of the month and you need to be prepared for her arrival,” Rhea says. “Who knows if she’ll come back after this. You are her host. She will fix <em>everything</em>. Everything wrong with this world. Human’s prejudices and the damage they have done to this world. She’ll fix it.”</p><p>            Byleth stares at Rhea again. And then the alarm goes off. </p><p>            “<em>Rhea</em>,” Seteth’s voice comes through the intercom in her office. “<em>The Flame Emperor has been sighted with Thales. What are your orders?</em>”</p><p>            “Send Dimitri and his team-” Rhea begins. </p><p>            “I’m going,” Byleth says. She needs to ask the Flame Emperor about what happened with her dad. Her connection to TWS. Most of all, she needs to get away from Rhea. Edelgard will understand. “Dimitri can come with my team.”</p><p>            Rhea turns to her and glares, but still says, “I will allow it. But we are not done here.”</p><p>            Byleth doesn’t say anything else, just turns around and walks out the door. </p>
<hr/><p>            So. The Flame Emperor is Edelgard. </p><p>            Byleth is still wrapping her head around that whole thing, especially now that she’s sided with the Flame Emperor and is sitting in his . . . Edelgard’s secret compound. </p><p>            But hey, Dimitri was going to kill her. Byleth couldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t let him kill Edelgard. She couldn’t let him kill the Flame Emperor. Then Hubert showed up and teleported all three of them away. </p><p>            “I owe you an explanation,” Edelgard tells her. </p><p>            Byleth doesn’t respond, just watches her. </p><p>            “I became the Flame Emperor for many reasons,” Edelgard begins. “I felt like the X-Men weren’t doing enough. To truly get humans to accept us more drastic measures had to be taken. But there was a bigger problem: Rhea. This may seem outlandish, despite everything we’ve been through, but Rhea’s not a mutant. She’s an alien.”</p><p>            Edelgard waits for her reaction. She simply shrugs, “I never did figure out what her mutant power is.”</p><p>            “Exactly,” Edelgard continues. “Her goals for mutantkind is much more sinister. For years, she’s been collecting mutants to make us fear humans and placate them instead of meeting them as equals. She’s done all of this to keep us loyal to her, because she believes that a mutant is supposed to become the host of an alien messiah.”</p><p>            Byleth’s eyes go wide as she gasps, “Sothis.”</p><p>            “How do you know that?” Edelgard narrows her eyes.</p><p>            “That’s what Rhea was telling me before . . . all of this,” Byleth says. “She said that <em>I’m</em> supposed to be Sothis’ host because the Sword of the Creator bonded with me.” </p><p>            Edelgard stares at Byleth, “We can’t let you become Sothis’ host.”</p><p>            “I . . . I don’t want to,” Byleth admits. </p><p>            “So, will you stand with me?” Edelgard asks. “Our goals are now aligned; we can’t let Rhea get what she wants.”</p><p>            Byleth rubs her eyes. So much has changed in one day and despite all that has been revealed, she feels like she hasn’t learned anything, “Why were you working with Those Who Slither?”</p><p>            “What?” </p><p>            “Why were you working with Those Who Slither?” Byleth repeats. She looks directly at Edelgard, “After everything they did to you?”</p><p>            “Our goals lined up occasionally,” Edelgard says. “We both want to get rid of Rhea. Once she’s gone, I’m going to help mutants rise and stand on their own, even though they wished to bring us down. Trust me, it hurt me more than you can know to work with them.”</p><p>            “Why did you attack Kronya after she killed my dad?” Byleth continues. “Even though he’s a human?”</p><p>            “Because he was your dad,” Edelgard continues. “That wasn’t part of the agreement. Besides, I don’t hate humans. I hate the ones that hate us. Your dad . . . he seemed like a good man.”</p><p>            Byleth lets out a deep sigh and puts her face in her hands. She got her answers. Now what? Even after all that’s revealed . . . she still sees Edelgard as her friend. She still wants Edelgard to be more than a friend.</p><p>            She stands up, “I’ll stand with you Edelgard. Because you’re my friend.”</p><p>            Edelgard’s stoicism fades as her walls collapse. Her shoulders hunch forward and she brings a hand up to her face, “I . . . am very glad to hear you say that. Even after everything you just learned.”</p><p>            “Of course,” Byleth says. “But, if we’re going to face Rhea, we should probably recruit the rest of our friends.”</p><p>            “Are they going to want to stand with me?” Edelgard chuckles sourly. “Now that they know that I’m the Flame Emperor?”</p><p>            “Yes,” Byleth insists. She places a hand on Edelgard’s shoulder and squeezes it. “Because they’re your friends.”</p>
<hr/><p>            Hubert teleports the three of them to Garreg Mach, right on the front lawn. Edelgard delivers a grand speech about what Rhea really is and asks their fellow mutants to join them. She’s surprised by how many come to stand at her side: Dorothea, Linhardt, Caspar, Petra, Ferdinand, Lysithea, Leonie, and even two of Dimitri’s closest friends, Sylvain and Felix. </p><p>            Dimitri and Rhea are both furious at the stunt, and that others decided to join their side. But, they left before either of them could do something. </p><p>            They had a team. Now, they had to prepare for the battle. </p>
<hr/><p>            “Y’know,” Byleth says as she suits up for their mission. “I wish we could have gone on a date before all of this.” </p><p>            Edelgard is surprised by that, “You still want to date me-”</p><p>            “Don’t finish that sentence if it’s going to end with ‘even though I’m the Flame Emperor’,” Byleth warns her. </p><p>            She shuts her mouth. </p><p>            “Yes, I do,” Byleth says. “I really like you Edelgard.”</p><p>            “I really like you too,” Edelgard blushes. “We can go on a date after we kick Rhea’s ass.”</p><p>            Byleth smiles, “Sounds like a plan.”</p>
<hr/><p>            So, they go and fight Rhea. </p><p>            Sothis arrives.</p><p>            And then Byleth dies. </p>
<hr/><p>
  <em>Wake up.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Wake up. </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>WAKE UP.</em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>WAKE UP.</em>
  </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>            Byleth wakes up. </p><p>            She’s sitting on the ground in a forest, snow starting to rise through the grass as flakes fall from the sky. One lands on her nose and she realizes that she’s a little cold. She stands up and tries to figure out where she is. The forest seems to go on forever to her left, and to her right . . . is a road. Honestly, she doesn’t know what else she can do other than walk. </p><p>            The forest borders either side of the road, and the only sign she sees on the side of the road is a ‘no passing’ sign. Shortly up ahead is a small gas station and convenience store. There are a few bikers filling up gas, but inside there’s just a teenager at the till. </p><p>            As soon as she enters the store, Byleth realizes that she doesn’t have her wallet. She doesn’t have anything on her other than the clothes on her back . . . and the Sword of the Creator. It’s probably a bad idea to summon it in the middle of a convenience store. </p><p>            Even though she doesn’t have any money, she walks around and finds a small stand with newspapers on it. The front headline reads ‘MUTANT MENACE’. She doesn’t read the article, she gets distracted by the date: December 28th, 2018. </p><p>            That’s . . . that’s not right. </p><p>            The date . . . the date’s supposed to be 2013. </p><p>            It can’t have been five years. It can’t. </p><p>            Of course, then it hits her: she’s supposed to be dead. </p><p>            Byleth shoves the newspaper into her jacket and walks out of the store, the cashier doesn’t even notice her petty theft. She has only one thought on her mind: she has to find Edelgard. </p><p>            She walks up to the group of bikers, and taps on the shoulder of the biggest one. When he turns around, she simply says, “I need your motorcycle.”</p><p>            “What?” </p><p>            “I need your motorcycle. And your helmet. Safety is important.”</p><p>            “Why,” the man begins. “Should I just give you my motorcycle?”</p><p>            “I need it.”</p><p>            “You need it?”</p><p>            “Yes.”</p><p>            He stares at her for a second, “Hell no-”</p><p>            Byleth punches him in the face. He stumbles back, nose bleeding, and is caught by his two buddies. She hops onto his motorcycle as they try to stable him, and dons his helmet.</p><p>            “Thanks guys,” she revs the bike and speeds off. </p><p>            She doesn’t know where Edelgard would be right now. Probably not at Garreg Mach, considering how they had just fought Rhea. But she’ll find her, no matter what. </p>
<hr/><p>            A lot of things have happened within the last five years. Public opinion of mutants have hit an all-time low from the multiple clashes between the two sides of the X-Men: one led by Edelgard and the other led by Rhea and Dimitri. Neither group is viewed favorably by humans. Those Who Slither are about to produce Sentinels that can be bought by governments to help police their mutant population. At least, that’s all Byleth could get from the newspaper she stole. </p><p>            She hopes her friends are okay. She hopes Edelgard is okay. </p>
<hr/><p>            Byleth is now in Illinois, according to the “Welcome to Illinois” sign she just passed by. She grabbed some warm clothes out of a Goodwill donation bin in a small town, and found a compartment with fifty bucks on the bike. She’s been eating at McDonalds to rations her funds. Despite stealing a bike, she hasn’t run into any trouble . . . yet. </p><p>            Mutants have an innate ability to attract trouble to them somehow. Byleth gets her comeuppance in the next town she passes through. </p><p>            It’s a decent sized town, in one of the more rural areas of the state. Maybe that’s why there’s a group of police officers cornering a mutant (if the purple skin and tentacles coming out of their head are anything to go by) while by-standers just watch. However, Byleth just can’t stand-by. </p><p>            She parks the motorcycle on the sidewalk and jumps off of it, summoning the Sword of the Creator as she runs directly into the fray. A cop tries to fire at her, but she extends the sword and cuts the gun in half before he has a chance. </p><p>            “It’s another mutie!” the second cop calls. “Back-up needed!”</p><p>            A third shoots at the mutant, and Byleth has to reverse time to stop him. She punches the cop on the face and knocks him back into the third. With all three cops down, she turns to the mutant, “Follow me.” </p><p>            They nod and step behind Byleth. Most of the by-standers have scattered, but the arrival of a cop car blocks off the access to the motorcycle. They start running the other way. </p><p>            Byleth tries to think fast, wondering how quickly she can steal and hotwire a car. She doesn’t need to, as she recognizes a black mass forming in the middle of the street. It spins as it rises towards the sky, and two very familiar faces step out. </p><p>            “Edelgard! Hubert!” Byleth calls. She tows the mutant along as she runs towards them. Both of them look older, and Edelgard’s horns have grown out into a full helix.</p><p>            Edelgard’s jaw drops when she sees Byleth, and Hubert’s eyes go wide. The former stammers, out, “B-Byleth?! Is . . . is that really you?”</p><p>            “Yes,” Byleth says. </p><p>            Hubert recovers from his shock first, “How can we know for sure?”  </p><p>            “We don’t have time for this, I punched a cop.”</p><p>            “It’s her, Hubert,” Edelgard says. “Let’s get back to the School.”</p><p>            He simply nods, and shadows surround all four of them. When they dissipate, they’re not at Garreg Mach, they’re somewhere new. </p><p>            This school is a mismatch of styles, with some of the buildings having the old gothic architecture of Garreg Mach while other parts are sleek and modern. The yard is massive, but something seems a little off . . . </p><p>            In front of her, the turf rises up and forms a maw of dirt, ready to consume her. Two red bulbs peep out of the grass and peer down at her angrily. Hubert steps forward first, “Krakoa, <em>down</em>. They’re new residents.”</p><p>            “Krakoa!?” Byleth exclaims. “You mean Krakoa, the Living Island?”</p><p>            “This one is actually a descendant of the original,” Edelgard explains. “Bernadetta’s been taking care of him. But first thing’s first, Hubert, can you take our newest student inside to get a check-up before a tour?”</p><p>            “And what about . . . yourself?” Hubert asks, eyeing Byleth. </p><p>            “I can handle it from here,” Edelgard insists. </p><p>            “As you wish,” Hubert sighs. He puts a hand on the mutant’s shoulder, “Young man, come with me. We have much to cover.”</p><p>            As soon as Hubert’s back is turned, Byleth looks to Edelgard and says, “You grew your horns out.”</p><p>            Edelgard boggles at her for only a second before she laughs, “It . . . it really is you. Byleth, where have you been? We all thought you had died.”</p><p>            “I think I died?” Byleth says. “I’m pretty sure I was dead.”</p><p>            “How did you come back?” Edelgard asks. All Byleth can do is shrug. “I guess it doesn’t matter, really, as long as you’re back with us. I-” she cuts herself off. She steps forward and surprises Byleth by giving her a hug, “I missed you.”</p><p>            “It really has been five years, hasn’t it?” Byleth mutters. </p><p>            “It has,” Edelgard confirms. “It’s been a very hard five years without you.”</p><p>            “I’m sorry.”</p><p>            “For what?”</p><p>            “I left you. I . . . never meant to leave your side.”</p><p>            “I know. It doesn’t matter now that you’re back.”</p><p>            Byleth nods and steps back to admire the strange building, “You started a school.”</p><p>            “I did,” Edelgard nods. “I needed to create a safe place for young mutants away from Rhea. All mutants are welcome here, no matter their background or their mutation.”</p><p>            “What’s it called?” Byleth asks. </p><p>            Edelgard instantly starts to blush, “You can’t laugh.”</p><p>            “Why would I laugh?”</p><p>            “. . . I named it after you.”</p><p>            “What?”</p><p>            “It’s called the Byleth Eisner School for Higher Learning. I thought you were dead. I wanted to honor you somehow,” Edelgard buries her face in her hands. </p><p>            “That’s cute,” Byleth says. </p><p>            Edelgard looks up and tries to glare at her, though it comes off as a pout with how badly she’s blushing, “It’s not cute.”</p><p>            “It is.”</p><p>            “It’s not.”</p><p>            “I think it’s cute.”</p><p>            “Byleth, please don’t call me cute.”</p><p>            “Sorry.”</p><p>            “It’s alright,” Edelgard sighs. “After how long you’ve been gone, I actually missed your teasing.”</p><p>            “I can tease you more if you want.”</p><p>            “No, I don’t think I could handle anything else right now,” Edelgard says. “But, I shouldn’t be hogging you, everyone else has missed you too. Come, let me show you around the school.”</p>
<hr/><p>            The rest of the day is a blur. She talks with her former teammates and students, all who are shocked to see her (which is fair, because she did die). Even Yuri and his Ashen Wolves are here, and Hubert gets Constance to use her telepathy to make sure that Byleth is really Byleth. </p><p>            At dinner, everyone fills her in on what happened after the battle at Garreg Mach. Sothis supposedly left with Byleth dead, which Rhea was not happy about. They had to retreat, and Edelgard decided to create the School. Since, they’ve been clashing with those allied with Garreg Mach over new mutants as well as dealing with Those Who Slither and their Sentinels. Oh, and also Claude’s a prince. No one bothers to explain the last one to her. </p><p>            With everything said and done, Byleth is shown to a room, but she feels restless. She begins to walk around the grounds (treading carefully to not piss off Krakoa). There’s a brick wall that surrounds the property, but she still gets the sense that something is off. She just can’t place a finger on it . . . .</p><p>            “There you are,” Edelgard says as she walks up to her. “Is everything alright?”</p><p>            “Yeah, just . . .” Byleth scans the horizon. “Where are we, exactly?”</p><p>            “First off, we’re actually inside,” Edelgard reaches out and touches the wall. It flickers, showing a dark gray background behind it. “The exit for this place is within the mansion, but we usually just teleport out with Hubert. As for location, we’re in northern Canada, so I wouldn’t suggest heading outside without a coat.”</p><p>            Byleth pauses, “Northern Canada . . . Edelgard, are we where Weapon X happened?”</p><p>            “Yes,” Edelgard confirms. “The compound has been long empty. Rhea doesn’t know this exists and this is the last place Those Who Slither would expect me to be.”</p><p>            “Are you okay with this?” Byleth checks. </p><p>            “I suggested it as our new base,” Edelgard says. “Though this is the place where I was hurt . . . reclaiming it for something good has helped ease the pain.”</p><p>            Byleth nods. She can’t imagine what it was like for Edelgard to return to this place when it was still empty, scars of the terrible things done here still on display. </p><p>            “I wanted to speak to you about that, the school,” Edelgard asks. “First off, I can change the name if you want-”</p><p>            “You don’t have to, I like it,” Byleth says. “It’s cute.”</p><p>            Edelgard pinches the bridge of her nose, “It’s not cute and I’m not going to let you argue with me about this. Secondly, would you like to become a teacher?”</p><p>            “Really?”</p><p>            “Yes,” Edelgard explains. “You were never explicitly a teacher back at Garreg Mach, but you basically taught everyone, myself included. You seemed happy when you taught others. Some of the others are also teaching classes, but it’s optional.”</p><p>            Byleth observes the school again. She manages a small smile, “I think I’d like that.” </p>
<hr/><p>            There are about thirty-five students at the school, more than there was in the first wave of students at Garreg Mach. According to Edelgard, the numbers at Garreg Mach only grow and grow. </p><p>            (“More mutants are appearing every day,” Edelgard tells her. “And we’re in a race against Rhea to recruit them.”)</p><p>            Edelgard starts her off easy, giving her a power training class . . . and English. She remembers Manuela once told her that to teach English, you just, “tell them to read something and they tell you what they read”. Of course, Manuela taught chemistry, but that’s all she has to go on. </p><p>            She thinks her first English class goes well. Two of the students, Ladislava and Rudolph, actually want to talk to her afterwards. They seem like nice kids so she does their best to answer their questions, even if she’s not quite sure what she’s doing. She’ll do better later in Power Training. </p><p>            She’s looking forward to this whole teaching thing. </p>
<hr/><p>            Within her first couple days at the Byleth Eisner School for Higher Learning, Byleth realizes that it really has been five years. Things that seemed to happen last week for her happened years ago for everyone else. It really hits her when she realizes that she has no idea if she and Edelgard are still dating (or if they ever really were). They didn’t even go on a first date. </p><p>            Byleth has to figure this out, immediately. </p><p>            She bursts into Edelgard’s office, shortly after her English class. Hubert is there, of course, looking at something over Edelgard’s shoulder like a specter.</p><p>            “Is everything alright?” Edelgard asks. </p><p>            Byleth cuts to the chase, “Are we dating?”</p><p>            Edelgard blushes, “Uhm . . . Hubert, could you give me and Byleth a moment alone?”</p><p>            “I’ll close the door on my way out,” Hubert says. </p><p>            The door slams shut, and Edelgard motions for Byleth to sit down. She does so, but sits on the edge of her seat, too wired up to relax. </p><p>            “I mean, I know it’s been five years,” Byleth continues. “We were kinda dating when I died? But we never went on a date.”</p><p>            “I know,” Edelgard says. “I haven’t seen anyone; in the five years you’ve been gone. I’ve been too busy. And I guess . . . I always hoped that you would return to us one day, no matter how futile of a hope it was. But now, you’re back.”</p><p>            “So?”</p><p>            “I would like to pick up where we left off, if you would like too.”</p><p>            “I do,” Byleth says. She shifts in her seat, “Can I kiss you? I didn’t get to kiss you before I died.”</p><p>            Somehow, Edelgard manages to get redder. Her blush goes all the way up to her ears, “I would like that.”</p><p>            Byleth stands up and leans across Edelgard’s desk, watching as she closes her eyes. She closes the small distance between them and kisses Edelgard. </p><p>            Edelgard opens her eyes seconds after they part. She licks her lips and whispers, “Can we do that again?”</p><p>            So Byleth kisses her again. And again. And again. And again. She’s trying to make up for five years’ worth of missed kisses she owed Edelgard. She kisses her lips, her cheeks, her nose, her forehead, her neck, every inch of skin available to her. </p><p>            “Byleth,” Edelgard breaths. “I have wanted your affections for so long, but I fear that Hubert may walk back in on us at any moment.”</p><p>            She finally takes her lips off of Edelgard’s skin, “Hhm, and I haven’t even taken you on a date yet.”</p><p>            “Is that where your mind is going?” Edelgard checks. </p><p>            “Yeah, I owe you an actual date,” Byleth says. </p><p>            “There’s . . . not many places to go out in the Canadian wilderness,” Edelgard reminds her. </p><p>            “I know, I’ll figure something out,” Byleth promises. She kisses Edelgard’s forehead one more time, “Tomorrow night, we’ll go on a date.”</p><p>            Edelgard laughs, “I’d argue and say that’s too little time, but knowing you, you’ll get it done. I look forward to our date, Byleth.”</p>
<hr/><p>            Everything is perfect. She has flowers, she has food, she has Edelgard’s favorite tea. This is going to be the perfect first date.</p><p>            There is a small gazebo on the grounds, far away enough from the school to be considered private. Byleth drags out a small table and two chairs, places a tablecloth and candles on it, and gets help from Bernadetta to make a meal. </p><p>            All that’s left to do is wait, but she needs a way to expend her nervous energy, so she rearranges the table like fourteen times. It’s during the fifteenth that Edelgard sneaks up on her. </p><p>            “Byleth, this is lovely.”</p><p>            She almost jumps out of her skin in surprise, but when she turns around she finds that her breath is stolen. Edelgard is wearing a lovely red dress with a high neck and open back. Even if Byleth wasn’t left speechless, she doubts that she could find the words to properly describe how amazing Edelgard looks. She tries, “You look . . . beautiful.”</p><p>            “Thank-you,” Edelgard smiles. “You look very handsome yourself. I don’t see you with your hair up often.”</p><p>            With how spectacular Edelgard looks, Byleth is starting to feel a bit out of place with the white button-up shirt and black slacks Dorothea threw at her. Dorothea also attempted to tame her hair, but settled on pulling it back into a ponytail. </p><p>            “I uh, I got you carnations,” Byleth grabs the bouquet off of the table. </p><p>            “These are lovely, Byleth. I’m surprised you grew these so fast.”</p><p>            “Ah well, Krakoa helped.”</p><p>            On hearing his name, Krakoa pokes out of the lawn to see what’s going on. Edelgard laughs as Byleth waves him away. He gets the message and sinks back into the ground. </p><p>            “I guess we can’t really get a moment of privacy anywhere,” Edelgard chuckles.</p><p>            “At least out here we can pretend we’re alone,” Byleth says. “Here, let me get your chair. I don’t want the food to get cold.”</p><p>            “Byleth.”</p><p>            She turns around just as Edelgard puts a hand on her cheek. Edelgard cups her face and brings her in for a soft kiss, but it’s enough to leave Byleth dazed when she pulls away, “Thank-you, for all of this.”</p><p>            “You deserve it, Edelgard,” Byleth insists. </p><p>            “You can call me El,” Edelgard says. “My mother used to call me El. I’d prefer it if you did it too.”</p><p>            “Okay El,” Byleth tries out the nickname. She likes it, especially considering that only she gets to call her that. </p><p>            The two of them sit down and begin to eat. Like their tea times long ago, they avoid talking about X-Men business. Instead, Byleth asks if Edelgard’s been keeping up with her art and she asks how Byleth enjoys teaching. It’s perfect. </p><p>            When they finish dinner, Edelgard sighs, “Byleth, this was wonderful.”</p><p>            “We’re not done yet,” Byleth insists. She goes over to the cooler on the side and pulls out two dishes of saghert and cream, “We still have dessert.”</p><p>            “Oh my,” Edelgard gasps. </p><p>            Before Byleth can even sit back down, she spots Caspar running up to the gazebo. </p><p>            “Uh, hey guys!” Caspar calls out as he slows down. He doesn’t appear out of breath, but he must have run all the way here. Edelgard glares at him as he continues, “I know, uh, that we were threatened with a hand axe to the head if we disturbed you but Hubert said it was an emergency.”</p><p>            “What type of emergency?” Edelgard demands. </p><p>            “Y’know how he’s been keeping an eye on energy readings in space? Or something like that?” Caspar asks. “He says it’s coming back.”</p><p>            “What’s coming back?” Byleth asks. </p><p>            Caspar frowns, “Sothis. Sothis is coming back.”</p>
<hr/><p>            It is a little awkward to sit in the war room in date attire, but Caspar insisted that Hubert insisted that it was an emergency. </p><p>            Hubert explains what their satellites picked up (since when did they have a satellite) using words that Byleth didn’t know but didn’t want to ask the meaning of lest this conversation goes on too long. However, the implication was clear enough: Sothis is back and coming to Earth. </p><p>            Edelgard is sitting at a desk, hands clasped over her mouth and brows furrowed while deep in thought. When Hubert finishes, she asks, “Is it coming for Byleth?”</p><p>            “Considering its trajectory, most likely,” Hubert answers. “Rhea was able to detect it a month before it’s arrival last time, so she must also know that it’s returning. She may also be able to infer why it’s coming back to Earth.”</p><p>            “If Rhea knows that Byleth is back . . .” Edelgard murmurs. “She may target the school.”</p><p>            “Wait,” Byleth doesn’t like being talked about like she’s not here. “I’m not worried about Rhea. If Sothis is coming back . . . I might die again.”</p><p>            “We would like to avoid your death again,” Hubert says. “But both Sothis and Rhea are threats to our school. We must take each into account.”</p><p>            “No Hubert, Byleth is right,” Edelgard says. She turns around and takes her hand, “We’ve faced Rhea before, and we have an idea of what she’s capable of. As for Sothis . . . it arrived in a flash of light and then Byleth was gone. We don’t know how to deal with that.” </p><p>            “What happened last time? When Sothis first arrived?” Hubert asks. </p><p>            “I don’t know,” Byleth shrugs. “That giant green, dragon-shaped energy came down and hit me and I just . . . tried to fight it as best I could. But then everything went black. I couldn’t reverse time. And I died.”</p><p>            “That’s not much to go on,” Hubert says. “But we have time to work something out.”</p><p>            “For now, let’s prepare for both Rhea and Sothis,” Edelgard says. “We have been expecting Rhea to attack us for years, so we shouldn’t have to focus on her as much. We’ll put the majority of our efforts towards stopping Sothis.”</p><p>            “I agree,” Hubert says. “I shall start looking into whatever information we have on Sothis.”</p><p>            “Thank-you, Hubert,” Edelgard says as the man leaves. She hasn’t let go of Byleth’s hand. In a small voice, she whispers, “I don’t want to lose you again. I just got you back.”</p><p>            “You won’t,” Byleth brings her hand up to kiss her knuckles. “El, I promise that I’m going to stay by your side, and walk with you as long as I can.”</p><p>            “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”</p><p>            “I intend to keep this one.”</p>
<hr/><p>            That night, Byleth is woken by a series of rapid knocks on her door. Half asleep, she stumbles over to open it. She finds Edelgard standing in the hallway, “Oh! I’m sorry Byleth, did I wake you up?”</p><p>            “Yeah,” Byleth yawns. “But it’s fine. Is everything alright?”</p><p>            Edelgard shifts on her feet, “I . . . I had a nightmare.”</p><p>            That wakes Byleth up, “Come in.”</p><p>            Byleth closes the door behind Edelgard. She stands in the center of the room, pulling at the sleeves of her nightgown, not sure where to sit down. Byleth goes over to the bed and pats on the mattress next to her, beckoning Edelgard over. She hesitates for a second, but when she does sit down Byleth wraps an arm around her shoulders. </p><p>            “Was it another nightmare about Arundel and Weapon X?” Byleth guesses.</p><p>            “No,” Edelgard doesn’t look her in the eye. “It was about losing you.”</p><p>            “Oh,” Byleth pulls Edelgard closer. "I already told you, El. I'm not going to go anywhere. I'm not going to leave your side."</p><p>            "I know you said so. But I'm afraid that I'm going to lose you again," Edelgard buries her face in Byleth’s shoulder. "After I just got you back." </p><p>            Byleth begins to rub circles in Edelgard’s back, "All I can give you is my word, El. But I know that we'll find a way to stop Sothis."</p><p>            "I know. I know that here and now," Edelgard sighs. "But when I close my eyes I'm going to dream of losing you again."</p><p>            An idea strikes Byleth, "Maybe … maybe I can help with that."</p><p>            Edelgard raises her head so she can quirk an eyebrow, "What?"</p><p>            "Why don't you sleep here with me?" Byleth suggests. "To help remind you that I'm not going anywhere." </p><p>            "That," Edelgard considers her proposition. "That's worth a shot. But I don't want to intrude." </p><p>            "You're not. I want you to sleep well."</p><p>            "Okay," Edelgard says. "But … I've got to get something from my bedroom. And you have to promise not to laugh."</p><p>            "I won't," Byleth promises, but she has no idea what Edelgard is talking about. </p><p>            "I'll be right back," Edelgard says. It takes her about three minutes to run to her room and back. In the meanwhile, Byleth patiently waits on the edge of the bed. </p><p>            When Edelgard returns, she’s carrying a worn teddy bear with felt armor wrapped protectively in her arms. Byleth quirks an eyebrow, "A stuffed animal?"</p><p>            Edelgard nods, the blush visible on her face even in the dim light. </p><p>            "Aw El, that’s-"</p><p>            "The next word out of your mouth better not be 'cute'."</p><p>            So Byleth doesn't say anything. </p><p>            "I've had this since I was a kid," Edelgard explains. "I've never slept without him. Is … is this okay?"</p><p>            "Yeah, if it makes you feel more comfortable," Byleth says. She holds out her arms and motions Edelgard over, "Come here, let's go to bed." </p><p>            Edelgard shuffles over as Byleth crawls under the covers, holding them up for her to join. As Edelgard snuggles closer, Byleth wraps her arms around her. </p><p>            "Is this alright?" Byleth checks. </p><p>            "Yes, it is," Edelgard nods. "Good night, Byleth."</p><p>            "Good night El."</p>
<hr/><p>            Rhea finds them. </p><p>            With her, she brings mutants Byleth doesn’t recognize. People who are loyal to her, more so than she ever was. </p><p>            And of course, she just has to attack at the same time Sothis is supposed to be arriving.</p><p>            “Byleth, this is your last chance,” Rhea announces from across the battlefield. “Return to me and accept your destiny.”</p><p>            “Hhm . . . what if I say no?” Byleth checks. </p><p>            Rhea brandishes a sword and growls, “I’ll return you to your grave.” </p><p>            “Then . . . no.”</p><p>            And the battle begins. </p><p>            Despite weaving in and out of mutants coming for her head, Byleth is distracted by everything else. She keeps one eye on the sky, waiting for it to turn green and signal the arrival of Sothis. The other one she kept on Edelgard, making sure she is alright. But, as usual, Edelgard can stand on her own.  </p><p>            “You will pay for your wretched insolence!” Rhea shouts as she runs across the field, making a beeline for Byleth. She blocks her sword with the Sword of the Creator, “You are not worthy of that Sword.”</p><p>            Byleth blinks, “You’re the one that sent me out to get it.”</p><p>            She pushes back and Rhea stumbles. Above in the sky, the clouds start to turn green. She and Rhea look down at the same time, the former with a wicked grin, “<em>She’s here</em>. Your destiny arrives, Byleth.”</p><p>            Sothis breaks through the clouds with a giant maw, the grey skies dissipating as they dissolve into green. As the cosmic force bears down, everyone freezes. Byleth looks across the battlefield to Edelgard and they meet eyes. Edelgard looks scared. But Byleth promised her that she would stay by her side. She’s going to keep her promise.</p><p>            And then all she sees is green. </p>
<hr/><p>            Byleth stands at the foot of the throne again and sitting at the top is the green-haired girl. She perks up when she notices Byleth, “<strong>Oh. It’s you again<em>.</em></strong>”</p><p>            “You’re Sothis,” Byleth says. </p><p>            “<strong>Yes</strong>,” the girl says like she’s just realizing this herself. “<strong>Yes, that is one of the names I have been called. Some have called me Sothis, others have called me the Beginning. Now, who are you?</strong>”</p><p>            “Byleth. Rhea says that I’m your host.”</p><p>            “<strong>Host?</strong>” Sothis repeats. She taps her chin, “<strong>You wield the Sword of the Creator. I suppose that makes you my host. If you wish.</strong>”</p><p>            Now it’s Byleth’s turn to parrot, “If I wish? I thought I had no choice.”</p><p>            “<strong>There is always a choice,</strong>” Sothis insists. </p><p>            “Last time I died because I refused to become your host,” Byleth points out. </p><p>            “<strong>That wasn’t me.</strong>”</p><p>            “What?”</p><p>            “<strong>I, my consciousness, is within the Heart</strong>,” Sothis says. “<strong>And the Heart is within you. I suppose that was just the sentient residual energy of my last form that consumed you. I assume it’s just seeking the last pieces of itself-the Sword and the Heart-out.</strong>”</p><p>            Byleth pretends she understands what Sothis just said, “Wait how did you get inside me?”</p><p>            “<strong>I don’t know</strong>,” Sothis shrugs. “<strong>I suppose that’s a question for whoever put the Heart in you. But, I fear we are running out of time. Now is the time to make your choice: will you or will you not become my host?</strong>”</p><p>            “I . . . I don’t know what either one entails,” Byleth says. “If I refuse, will I die again?”</p><p>            “<strong>You shouldn’t, <em>hopefully</em>,</strong>” Sothis says, mumbling the last word. “<strong>If you don’t become my host, you can live your life as you’ve been living it. If you do . . . I will take over your form and you as a person will no longer exist.</strong>” </p><p>            Byleth’s eyes go wide. Is this really what Rhea wanted to happen to her all along? She doesn’t want to die, but maybe she shouldn’t be selfish, “Rhea said that you can fix everything.”</p><p>            “<strong>Fix everything?</strong>” Sothis question. “<strong>That is a lot of responsibility, even for a cosmic entity such as myself. I don’t even know what ‘everything’ you are referring to is. I do not fix. I do not destroy. I create.</strong>”</p><p>            Rhea wanted Sothis to fix everything. But even Byleth isn’t too sure about what ‘everything’ is. Is it the hatred humans carry towards mutants? Or is it something off of this planet, wherever Rhea came from? </p><p>            “<strong>You are still indecisive</strong>,” Sothis says. “<strong>No one person can ‘fix everything’.</strong>”</p><p>            Sothis is right, no one person can fix everything. But, she thinks of her friends, her teammates. How together they’ve been trying to make a better world for mutants for years. She thinks of Edelgard, and how she tirelessly pursues her goals to make sure that no mutant ever gets hurt again. Byleth looks up at Sothis, determination filling her soul, “But a group of people, of friends, can try.”</p><p>            “<strong>You have decided,</strong>” Sothis says. </p><p>            “I have a promise to keep,” Byleth says. “I wish to continue to live. I reject you, Sothis.”</p><p>            Sothis closes her eyes and smiles, “<strong>So it shall be. Good luck, Byleth.</strong>”</p>
<hr/><p>            <em>“Byleth! Byleth, come back to me!”</em></p><p>            When she opens her eyes, the first thing she sees is Edelgard. She’s crying. She doesn’t want to see Edelgard cry. Everything feels heavy, but she reaches out to try and wipe away her tears, “El.”</p><p>            “Oh, thank the goddess you’re alive,” Edelgard sobs. “I thought I had lost you again.”</p><p>            “You can’t get rid of me that easily,” Byleth chuckles. “I promised I would walk with you. And we still need to finish a date.”</p><p>            Even though she’s crying, Edelgard manages to laugh, “Oh you wonderful woman. I love you.”</p><p>            “I love you too.”</p><p>            “<em>Ahem</em>.”</p><p>            Byleth looks off to the side, where Dorothea and Hubert are standing by. Dorothea elbows him in the stomach, “Oh come on Hubie! They were having a moment! Don’t be rude.”</p><p>            “We are still in the middle of a battle,” Hubert reminds all of them. </p><p>            “Oh yeah Rhea’s getting really pissed,” Dorothea adds. </p><p>            Byleth glances to the other side, where the rest of the X-Men are battling a . . . giant dragon? Did Rhea turn into a giant dragon? When did that happen?</p><p>            She tries to sit up, but Edelgard puts a hand on her shoulder, “You almost got consumed by a cosmic force <em>again</em>, Byleth. I’m not letting you fight.”</p><p>            “And I’m not leaving your side,” Byleth argues. “I’m fine. Let’s go kick Rhea’s ass. For real, this time.”</p><p>            Edelgard stares at her, “Promise me you won’t die this time.”</p><p>            “I promise,” Byleth takes Edelgard’s hand and squeezes it. Even though Edelgard gazes at her with concern, she helps Byleth stand up, and they walk forward to face Rhea. </p><p>            “RHEA!” Byleth shouts. “SOTHIS IS GONE!”</p><p>            The dragon looks up and growls, “No. Impossible!”</p><p>            “I rejected her,” Byleth continues. “She left. There’s no point in fighting now.”</p><p>            “No. No. That can’t be true,” Rhea hisses. “YOU ALL WILL PAY!”</p><p>            Byleth grabs Rhea’s discarded sword off of the ground, turns to Edelgard and nods. She nods back, and the two run into the fray, together.</p>
<hr/><p>            Byleth wakes up in a dilapidated med bay. The lights are flickering and one wall is caved in, but otherwise everything seems to be working. She’s the only one here other than . . . Edelgard, sleeping in a chair by her side. </p><p>            The battle rushes back to her. She and Edelgard took Rhea on their own and kicked her ass. But then . . . everything went black. She must have pushed herself too hard after rejecting Sothis.</p><p>            Welp, she’s alive and Edelgard is right here. She fishes around in her pockets and pulls out the silver ring her father left her. The rustling sheets wakes Edelgard from her slumber, slowly blinking her eyes open and mumbling, “Byleth?”</p><p>            Byleth holds out the ring, “Marry me.”</p><p>            Edelgard’s eyes go wide, “<em>Yes</em>. Wait. Byleth. What?”</p><p>            “Marry me,” Byleth repeats. </p><p>            “Byleth, you just woke up after <em>basically dying again</em> and the first thing you do is propose?” Edelgard points out. </p><p>            “If I died a second time it just gives me more reason to ask,” Byleth says. “I don’t know how many more times I can die and I don’t want to waste another second. El, will you marry me?”</p><p>            “Yes, of course,” Edelgard laughs. “I don’t want to waste any more time either.”</p><p>            Byleth leans forward to kiss her again and again and again, only stopping to put the ring on her finger. </p><p>            As Edelgard admires the ring on her finger, she says, “You know, we actually haven’t gone on a successful date yet.”</p><p>            “We aren’t exactly normal, El,” Byleth says. </p><p>            “We aren’t,” Edelgard says. “But I think that’s a good thing.”   </p>
<hr/><p>            Byleth is very lucky that she is not only alive right now, but gets to wake up with Edelgard in her arms every morning. Sunlight is filtering into the room from the window above their heads, and Byleth runs her fingers through Edelgard’s hair, the white starting to turn brown at the roots. Still asleep, Edelgard hums and leans into her touch. She would love to let her wife sleep in, but they have a busy day ahead. </p><p>            “El,” Byleth whispers. “Time to wake up.”</p><p>            Edelgard mumbles in her sleep. </p><p>            Alright, it was going to be one of those days. </p><p>            Byleth untangles herself from Edelgard (the woman clings to her like a teddy bear in her sleep, and she likes that) and starts to get ready. Within five minutes, the absence of warmth rouses Edelgard from her sleep.</p><p>            “Mhm, By,” Edelgard whines. “Come back to bed.”</p><p>            “Can’t,” Byleth leans over and kisses her forehead. “We’ve gotta get up El. We have a school to run.”</p><p>            Edelgard stares at her and pouts, but she concedes, “Alright.” She sits up and stretches. Byleth can’t help but climb across the bed and kiss the nape of her neck. Edelgard turns around and catches Byleth’s lips in another kiss. Against her lips she mutters, “Good morning.”</p><p>            “Morning. Your breath smells.”</p><p>            Edelgard leans back and laughs, “You’re going to have to deal with my morning breath.” She takes Byleth’s hand and kisses the wedding band, “For a very long time.”</p><p>            “A little of morning breath is a small price to pay if I get to wake up with you every morning,” Byleth says. </p><p>            She watches a slight blush bloom on Edelgard’s face, “You’ve been reading too many of those trashy romance novels Dorothea likes.” </p><p>            “You read them too.”</p><p>            “Don’t we have to get ready? A school to run and all?” Edelgard stands up, quickly changing the subject. Byleth laughs and follows her. </p><p>            After Garreg Mach had to be rebuilt a fourth time, they made sure to add apartments for all the teachers and heroes who would be staying at the school with the students. As Headmaster and Vice Principal, Edelgard and Byleth get the nicest room. Still, despite their being a kitchen in their apartment, they eat with everyone else in the faculty kitchen. </p><p>            As soon as they enter the faculty room, Dorothea is on them, “Welcome back! How was the honeymoon?”</p><p>            “Good,” Edelgard says. “Almyra was lovely.”</p><p>            “It was nice of Claude to let us stay,” Byleth adds. “All things considering.”</p><p>            “Eh, he owes us.”</p><p>            “As long as you two still aren’t deep in the honeymoon phase, I would love to hear everything,” Dorothea insists. </p><p>            “It’s their first day back, Dorothea,” Hubert says. “Let them get their breakfast first.”</p><p>            In the faculty kitchen is the dining room table from the old mansion, the old thing miraculously survived three fights. It’s long enough to fit all the staff so they can eat together, just like family. As soon as Edelgard and Byleth sit down at the end of the table, the questions start. </p><p>            “So, how surprised are you that the mansion didn’t burn down while you were gone?” Linhardt asks. </p><p>            “Please, Linhardt, Edelgard and Byleth left the school in our capable hands,” Ferdinand argues. </p><p>            Byleth and Edelgard share a look, and the latter speaks, “Very surprised.” </p><p>            Ferdinand frowns and sighs, “I suppose that’s fair.”</p><p>            Breakfast continues as normal, or normal for them. As Edelgard tells Dorothea about the honeymoon, Byleth gets caught up in refereeing an argument between Ferdinand and Caspar about doing stunts with the Blackbird (it’s a bad idea in theory, but it does sound cool). Then, it’s time to start the school day. </p><p>            As they walk to their office, students greet them as “Mrs. and Mrs. Eisner.” Byleth smiles as Edelgard blushes. When they get to their shared office, Byleth opens the door with a cheeky grin, “After you, Mrs. Eisner.”</p><p>            “Oh, don’t you start too,” Edelgard sighs. </p><p>            In their office, Edelgard gets the bigger desk not because she’s the Headmaster, but because there’s more space to put all of her paperwork. Byleth’s desk is slightly smaller and usually neater because she just has to deal with her student’s homework and tests. </p><p>            “Is today a teaching day or a paperwork day for you?” Byleth asks. </p><p>            “Every day is a paperwork day,” Edelgard grumbles as she sits down at her desk. “But, I am supposed to give a lecture later today.”</p><p>            “That’ll be a nice break for you,” Byleth says. “Will you be free for lunch today?”</p><p>            “. . . The lecture might be during my lunch break.”</p><p>            “<em>El</em>.”</p><p>            “It was the only way I could fit it into my schedule.”</p><p>            “I’ll bring you something from the mess hall afterwards,” Byleth promises. </p><p>            “Thank-you, my light.”</p><p>            They get to work, but Byleth only has an hour to grade papers before she heads off to her classes for the day. She likes to think that all of her classes are fun: power control, combat training, advanced weapons, and English. She does manage to sneak away to bring Edelgard lunch from the cafeteria, but she doesn’t see her wife again until it’s time for dinner.</p><p>            “Did you make a dent in the paperwork pile?” Byleth asks as they meet outside of the faculty kitchen. </p><p>            “I did,” Edelgard sighs. “And then Hubert brought more. Who knew that having a living island as the property grounds would need so much liability paperwork?”</p><p>            “Just don’t tell the safety officials about how we integrated the Danger Room into the whole school.”</p><p>            “I’m putting that off for as long as possible.” </p><p>            Dinner is a similar affair to breakfast, loud and boisterous and together. Felix almost starts a fight with Sylvain, but Annette stops the two of them. Caspar tries to fit fifty marshmallows in his mouth to Bernadetta’s horror and Linhardt’s impassiveness. Dorothea attempts to meddle in Hubert and Ferdinand’s love life but both of them are too stubborn to notice their feelings for each other. The usual. </p><p>            “I bet you missed all of this while you two were on vacation,” Ingrid says in the midst of the chaos. </p><p>            “A little bit,” Byleth admits. </p><p>            “I didn’t, but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Edelgard says. </p><p>            When dinner’s done, the two of them usually retreat into their room for the night, but Byleth has a bit of a surprise. She whispers into Edelgard’s ear, “Meet me at the gazebo at eight,” and winks as she walks away.</p>
<hr/><p>            A few hours later and everything is ready. The lawn is cleared out and the sun has just set, the only light coming from the moon, stars, and fairy lights Byleth hung in the trellises of the gazebo. She leans on the railing, and smiles as she spots Edelgard in the distance. </p><p>            “By,” Edelgard gasps as she walks up. “What’s all this for?”</p><p>            Byleth taps on her phone, leaving it balanced on the railing as music begins to play. She holds out her hand, “I just wanted to dance with you.”</p><p>            Edelgard smiles and takes her hand. </p><p>            <em>Moving forward using all my breath, making love to you was never second best</em>. </p><p>            The song is a bit faster than what they’re used to, but the point of this is to just have fun. In a world filled with chaos, they need to be reminded that they can relax too every once in a while. Together they sway to the music, and Edelgard laughs as Byleth spins her. </p><p>            <em>I saw the world crashing all around your face, never really knowing it was always, mesh and lace</em>. </p><p>            “So you really just wanted to dance?” Edelgard laughs as she spins back into her arms. </p><p>            Byleth nods, “I just want to make the most of every second of my third shot at life.” </p><p>            <em>I’ll stop the world and melt with you. You’ve seen the difference and it’s getting better all the time.</em></p><p>            “We have all the time in the world now,” Edelgard says. “And our future is bright. You don’t have to worry.”</p><p>            <em>There’s nothing you and I won’t do. I’ll stop the world and melt with you!</em></p><p>            Edelgard’s right, she shouldn’t be worrying. The future of mutantkind is bright. But, she will still treasure every moment she gets to spend with Edelgard, as long as she can. </p><p>            <em>The future’s open wide.</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>To those who made it to the end, congratulations! Thank-you for reading and leave a comment to let me know what you think! I . . . may actually continue writing for this AU, I had some ideas with Ingrid and idk it wouldn't be an X-Men story if I didn't come up with a bunch of kid mutants that will then be forgotten. </p><p>If you want to hear me talk about FE:3H, comics, Hades, or Muppets, follow me on my Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/Sniperdoodle12">shutupimshakira</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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